When I took a Positive Discipline parenting class, we were all given this book. What is Positive Discipline? Can you have both those words together in one experience? To begin, Jane Nelson names three adult-child interactions – strictness, permissiveness, and positive discipline – and then provides helpful concepts for understanding their differences. She writes about how punishment DOES work – it stops the immediate
My mother’s death is still so recent – maybe that’s why it’s easier to talk about Zed’s grief instead of my own. He had one small previous experience with death (unless you count rural Grass Valley road kill). Our dog of many years, Ziggy, died when he was two. Fueled by pictures and our stories, he will sometimes use these memories to access a
If you don’t have one already, an accessible basket of musical instruments is a must-have in a home with children under the age of 5. Where to start with your basket? Maracas, Jingle Stick, Castanets, a Drum and stick – these are great basics to start with. Here’s a set that I like: Shake, Rattle and Drum by Sounds like Fun. I give it
In my son’s classroom, the teacher praised a child’s roundly perfect cursive o’s. “Good job, Sienna.” At Little League, the coach told the boy who caught the ball, “Good job, Timothy.” Today, I heard “Good job” at the grocery store when the girl stopped throwing her Cheerios, on the playground when a boy hit the wall with the ball instead of his sister, and
Parents want their children to do well in school. You may already implement early bedtimes, assist with homework, limit sugar in lunches, and discuss on-going updates with their teacher. Here’s a few more ideas for helping your with homework and doing well in school: The Conversation The more I know about my son’s school experience, the more I can help it be a good
If the child cries for what they want, the answer is always “No.” Always? Yep. Consistency is key with this tool. If you’ve ever found yourself giving into a demand made by your child just to stop the crying, this is a good one. We instilled this practice early on in our parenting and we avoided so many of those kinds of struggles with
The Power of Three is a great parenting tool any time you want your child to understand an expectation or new experience. It’s three simple steps involving REPETITION. 1. Tell or show your child the behavior that you expect in a situation the night before or that morning. Use as few words as possible. 2. Tell or show them again a few hours or
In the “old days,” teachers played the piano in the classroom and the students sang on a daily basis. With budget cuts throughout the country, many music programs have been discontinued. Unless your child goes to a specialized school, music is probably not part of their daily classroom experience. My son has music in his school because I teach it. Not all his friends
Parents, Grandparents, Educators, Friends of Parents, and anyone who interacts with children: Welcome to a site devoted to distilling massive amounts of parenting information into nuggets of gold. All with the intent of helping parents get into and stay in their parenting groove. You can start using what you learn here right away. And parenting will become easier, more enjoyable, and even more of
