Can the Pandemic Still Be Affecting My Child?I recently got a question from a concerned parent:“But he was so young. Can the shutdown still be affecting him?”My answer? A loud, clear, YES. The impact of the pandemic continues to affect children in ways we may not […]
Stories have a vital role to play in trauma prevention and recovery. Learn why sharing our pandemic stories is crucial and how they can help us in the future.
One of my all time favorite parenting books has the long title How to Get your Kids to Eat, But Not Too Much. Nutritionist Ellyn Satter discussed why it is important to stay out of power struggles with your child around eating, then describes how to do it: […]
With so many violent tragedies playing out in our schools and communities, parents are understandably concerned when their children have pretend play with violent themes. I often have parents come to me with concerns over pretend gun play in particular. Developmentally, this play has a very […]
I often hear parents say things like “My child is so rude. You would not believe the things he says to me.” Or, ‘I would have never spoken to my parents this way.” “No matter what I try the problem just keeps getting worse. “Hearing your […]
Fifty years ago, when I was a little girl, children were taught the alphabet in Kindergarten. It was there we learned the name and shape of each letter, to associate sounds with letters, to recognize and write our names. Assuming a positive experience with books, and […]
Physical affection holds a high value and your family. You always greet and say good-bye toone another with hugs, and sometimes kisses to the cheek. But tonight, when it’s time to saygoodbye, your child is balking and refusing to hug grandpa. This upsets you. Your child […]
When I was a young child in the 1960s, praise was a rare thing for a parent to offer. One was expected to be good for goodness’ sake – and to avoid the spanking that comes from being ‘bad’.Then, around 1970, parents began hearing messaging that […]
Too often, I was the parent nagging my children about the 10% of the chore that didn’t get done, rather than noticing the 90% that did. That’s the way I was raised. That’s the way I thought it should be done. Children don’t need praise for doing things right, they need to be held accountable when they do things wrong. Turns out that’s backwards. It’s time to turn things around for children. Read more to learn why.
As the family crosses a large field one child begins running way out ahead of the others. The distance begins to make Mom nervous. “Stop” Mom yells. The child continues to run a few more paces before beginning to slow and turn toward her mother. I […]
Children tantrum for three basic reasons: to communicate, to gain control and to release emotional energy.
HOW TO GET THROUGH TANTRUMSBefore, we learned that children tantrum for one of three reasons:But once we know the why, how do we deal with them?Tantrums are difficult to manage because they play into our own feelings. They make us feel out of control. Tantrums can […]