(Or teaching your children their belongings don’t actually belong to them) I saw a random post in an email update from a blog I follow… a blog that’s supposed to be about house cleaning and management or stain removal or something… and it really caught my eye. It was on motivating your children to clean […]
Development
What to do When Your Child Hits
I think the toughest thing about a child hitting is trying to remember to not take the behavior of your child personally. Behavior is communication. When we take it personally, our mind gets clouded and we struggle to reframe, connect, breathe, and remain in control of our own behavior. The first thing to remember when […]
Helpful Resources on Raising Kids Through Each Stage of Development
Written by Kris Louis of www.parentingwithkris.com No matter the age of your kids, being a parent continuously challenges us, whether we’re nurturing toddlers or preparing teens for adulthood. And the moment you think you’ve figured something out, new concerns suddenly arise. The fact is that raising healthy, well-adjusted kids is a demanding, all-consuming job. With […]
Our Family Bed
If you had asked me 6 years ago my thoughts on children sleeping in their parents’ bed I would have scoffed and said something like, “my children will be sleeping in their own beds…” And then I would have made or thought some remark about enmeshed families. I’m pretty ashamed of that now. And I’m […]
Community Chat: SHARING
An interesting post about sharing was posted in the Facebook group not too long ago, and following it was a fantastic conversation on sharing and how some of our members handle this often-tricky topic. This is the shared post, written by Alanya Kolberg: MY CHILD IS NOT REQUIRED TO SHARE WITH YOURS. As soon as […]
How We Avoid Punishing Our Children
I often see comments in gentle parenting boards asking, “If you don’t punish, what do you do?” Or, “There are definitely circumstances where punishments are necessary, right?” As a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst), I frequently have to hold back from defining the term ‘punishment’ because I know that’s not exactly what folks mean. I […]
Please don’t spank your child.
Please don’t spank your child. “But if I don’t spank them, they will grow up to be entitled brats.” Everything you do as a parent will impact your children. Whether you spank or not does not have anything to do with your child growing up to feel entitled. It will, however, impact the way they […]
Instead of “Say you’re sorry”
Forcing a child to say sorry is not a good way to encourage authenticity.