It’s not always easy communicating with our early childhood kids. Often, as soon as the child becomse verbal, parents are off and running with lots of words. There is often more “telling” than showing. When trying to teach your child a new idea or action, it can seem like “in one ear and out the other.” The parent’s repeated and lengthy word count can
It is natural to look toward the apparent cause of disturbance or distress when some aspect of family life is out of balance. Parents often think that if they can just get their child to change, all will be calm, peaceful, joyful, easier – or any of the adjectives that parents hope for when there is chaos in the home. The first suggestion is
The responsibility of raising children raises concerns. There are the daily issues like our child’s sleep, nutrition and safety. There are larger concerns of health and well-being that include our child’s development, temperament, resilience, or happiness. How can we, as parents, discern what our child needs, especially if they are off-track in some way, whether that be developmentally or with behaviors. A Curious Parent
Almost all toddlers could be described as picky eaters. New foods often have disturbing tastes. If the child is used to breastmilk, formula, or sweet-tasting foods, it can be quite a transition to eat foods that awaken the other tastes. Alert! Alert! Strange taste in mouth! Toddlers are also new to making decisions and experimenting with control. One thing toddlers can control is what
Look at the adorable Minion. There are so many cute movie-themed toys. Or toys with given names and personalities. Or toys that do something when you push a button. Toys that flash and move and give temporary delight. They all scream, “Buy Me” and children cry, “I want them.” Irresistible? Seemingly so. The message to the parent is, “Don’t deprive your child. If you
Have you ever experienced any of the following? (Or overheard them with another family?) Your child refuses to listen and continues to pour syrup on the kitchen floor even as you are yelling, “STOP!!” Your child tells you how awful dinner is after you cooked all afternoon. Your child put his socks in the hamper. “Good job.” Your child finishes breakfast. “Good job.” Your child
Many parents I know are on “High Media Alert.” Hyper-vigilant, reading articles for info, monitoring their kids as much as possible, asking other parents about limits, forming and reforming a strategy, and sometimes, freaking out. No other generation of parents has had to deal with an entity that was this unknown when they grew up. Sure, nobody wanted their kids playing pool in River
. . . or what’s really going on with parents we wish we were like ~~~~~~~~~~ 1. They See Their Child’s Misbehavior as a Good Problem When their child misbehaves, successful parents see this as a good problem. The misbehavior tells the parent exactly what the child needs to learn – no more guess work. They stop their child’s world and help them learn what’s expected
I remember my just-hours-old newborn, swaddled up tight, propped on a pillow, fast asleep. Right then and there, I wanted to communicate with him. And it wasn’t long (2 hours when he woke up hungry) before he made his needs known. I learned his language as fast as I could: there was crying (a LOT of crying), smiles, eye and body movements, facial expressions,
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Bruce Williams. For all of the benefits of social media, it’s important to be well educated about its pitfalls, especially as parents. ~~~~ There’s no question that in the past few years, the advent of social media and especially Facebook has affected the lives of many. How so and how much? Who knows? Certainly not me.
