There are two things that children are usually looking for when they display inappropriate behaviors… Power and Attention The authors of the book The Connected Child do a wonderful job of describing healing and helpful ways to connect to your children. They designed the book with adoptive children in mind, but their great ideas can […]
Your child’s outbursts in public can make you want to pull your hair out and run for the hills. They put you and your spouse on high alert and can even cause you to win enemies (the people sitting next to you at church) and lose your friends (the parents of the kid your child bit at storytime). The […]
We expect our kids to be big kids yet we end up doing everything for them. By letting your kids have more chances to do things for themselves and do these things with success we can hand over more power and control to them which is all they really want. Simple things like carrying their own dish to […]
After each workshop, I ask the parents to write down the one tip they are going to go home and try to implement. Here is a list of the Top 10 tips chosen by parents this year: 10. Role play or use puppets to act out positive behaviors with your child. 9. Design a list […]
Some say we’re raising our children in The Age of Information, and who can argue with this? If we need any insights to support our parenting, it’s literally at our fingertips within seconds. Like an acorn falling from the tree of knowledge tree, all this information can be a blessing and a curse. Maybe a […]
“Teach your child to show strength by self control, not by controlling others” —-John Taylor PH.D and author of From Defiance to Cooperation How do we teach self control? Discuss choice making…. Positive and Negative Acknowledge positive choices and self control when you see them … Give tools for self control like: a chance to […]
One of my favorite children’s books for helping children understand the reading comprehension concept of cause and effect is a book called That’s Good, That’s Bad by Margery Cuyler. In this book, a young boy, starts his visit to the zoo when his parents get him a shiny red balloon. Oh, That’s Good!… No That’s […]
How do we help a child own up to their behavior choices and begin to make a change? The following methods encourage a child to be in charge of their good choice making… Tell them the expectations upfront so they know what they are working towards. Give them a chance to rewind when they’ve made […]
Children as young as three can think things through using the statements… “If … Then…” This is called the age of reason where they can judge what might happen next if they choose certain behaviors. This means at this early age, we can already guide our children to take on the job of regulating […]
Hurry ! Before the rush of back to school events begins to take over your calendar, plan a weekly game night. Book it on your calendar. Then, turn off the tv and video games, put away your phone or IPAD, and leave the dirty dishes in the sink. Meet your family at the kitchen table or […]
