From the moment my son could grasp, he held a stick in his hand. As he grew, the stick became integral to his play. It took on the life of a sword, a knife, a light saber, a spear. I thought of these as healthy ways for him to express childhood curiosity towards power and and aggression. But then, the stick became a gun.
You’re trying hard to be consistent. You mean no when you say it. You’re holding to strong limits. You understand that parents are in charge, not children. But you’re not having ANY fun!! Time to add in some Guerrilla Lovefare. In Guerrilla Warfare, one of the main elements is that of surprise. But in Lovefare, instead of waging a secretive ambush, you use the
Not too long ago, I wrote a post about praising kids called The Harm in Praising Kids. A discussion followed on ways to show encouragement and be motivating without promoting the need for validation. Six simple words solve this dilemma beautifully. This concept comes from a blog post you should read by Rachel Macy Stafford who is the Hands Free Mama. I highly recommend her
The benefits of music are vast and impactful. Maybe not all parents have gotten the word. For example, I hear some version of this all too often: Parent: We’re trying to decide between gymnastics and music. Me: I love gymnastics. But it’s NOT music. Or a parent may say, “My child is losing interest in music.” With most everything in life worth doing, there are
Parenting is a job thrust upon untrained workers. Parents often look to other parents for tools. I call it Over-the-Fence Parenting as I am reminded of my mother leaning over the fence to talk with her neighbor about the latest recipes, mothering issues, and neighborhood news. Later, when I saw films of tribal women talking together as they worked, I would think of my
You’ve heard about all the research. Media kills brain cells. Children who play video games do worse in school. Creativity is thwarted by media. So you limit. You restrict. You answer with a no more often than a yes. There is tension and raised voices. You BATTLE. A common outcome is for the parent to impose a limit or a punishment onto the child.
I’m so pleased to introduce Fern Weis of Your Family Matters. She is a certified coach helping parents of teens to change silence to sharing, apathy to responsibility and to raise them to confident, self-sufficient adulthood. As the founder of Your Family Matters, she works with parents privately, in groups, and leads a variety of in-person and virtual workshops. She is also a middle school teacher,
I’m excited to share this guest post by Angel Rodriguez of Wise Learners. He is an educator with over 17 years of experience in early childhood education. He currently works as a Parent Instructional Support Coordinator for the largest school system in Georgia, specializing in brain-based learning. He’s also served as a foster parent to children with severe physical, emotional, and mental disabilities. He’s
Has anyone else heard of FLIPPING the instruction? The lessons happen at home. Using technology, teachers create the lessons to be viewed on different devices – computer, iPad, mobile devices etc. The “homework” happens at school. Aha!! Check out Clintondale High School’s approach: Home Curriculum content is right there on the website – actual lessons for english, math, science, and SS. The lessons alone
Of course, it’s already starting. As close as the three of us are, Zed is spending more time on his own. He wants more peer time and less family time. As my friend Ben said, my son is “growing away.” The main focus of “growing away” is giving the child permission to make their own decisions – and allowing the child to deal with the
