New
Year’s Parenting Pledge
If you experience even a twinge of self-recognition
in this incident, it's time to make a solid resolution
as a parent. Ask yourself, "What resolution would
make the biggest difference in my parenting?"
Using
Guided Imagery With Your Child
Guided
imagery is a dynamic way to increase a child’s chances for
successful development of inner talents and personal resources.
Parents, teachers and other service providers can use imagery with
confidence to increase a child’s mental focus, help clarify
values, increase study efficiency or instill other successful traits.
Living
with Differences
In
the first week at my daughter's inclusive preschool (half kids
with special needs, half "typical" kids), the parents
tried to figure out who had the disabled kids and who didn't. No
one knew how to begin a conversation — we were afraid of
offending each other. We
found our common ground: we were all parents raising preschoolers.
Some of us had children who loved music, couldn't use the bathroom
yet or screamed when someone got too close. And some of us had
kids with disabilities.
Mother
Nurture: Letting Go
A
mom is dealing with so many feelings and needs and wants
in her children and partner that the stress builds up
over the course of a day. It's normal to feel like you
describe. Plus, many women have been taught various ways
to keep a stiff upper lip and not to say anything that
seems like a complaint, which just keeps things bottled
up and festering.
Meditating
Mamas
If
we want to enjoy our daily lives, it is exceptionally helpful
to slow down for part of the day and focus on your breath. Research
has shown that periods of meditation — of focusing on your
breath — helps us transcend worries, lowers our anxiety,
diminishes depression and increases clarity. Meditation balances
our moods and enhances our ability to connect fully with who we
are.
Parent
Better Than Your Own Parents Did
Your parents undoubtedly failed you as parents.
All parents fail. No parent is ever adequate enough to provide
one child — let alone two or more — with enough love,
caring, support, wisdom or whatever to completely meet his or
her needs. Therefore, parents naturally fall short when it comes
to parenting. It is impossible to be a perfect parent. We teach
our children almost all the skills they need to become doctors,
engineers, plumbers, architects, truck drivers or any one of the
millions of jobs in the world. We usually don’t teach parenting.
Look
At It From A Kid’s-Eye View
It's
quite easy for most fathers to look at their kids with a critical
eye. And why not? There's a lot riding on the outcome of your
kids' development. There's the nagging worry that you're not doing
your job well enough and that your child will develop "problems."
There's also the fear of being judged as an incompetent or uninvolved
father by others. And there's the relentless presence of your
children, making mistakes by the truckload while you watch.
Stressed,
Every Day
As
I came through the door after a challenging day of work, the tornado
began. "Daddy's home!" My kids wanted to share their
day and their artwork, and my wife wanted to share how difficult
her day had been. I wanted to lie down on the couch and be left
alone. And this same scenario is happening all over the country
with fathers (or mothers) and their families. Families are converging
on each other at the end of the day with wildly different needs
and moods. The result can be hurt feelings and distance between
family members.
Living
Through Your Baby’s Colic
Quite simply an absolute
nightmare for parents and babies alike, colic is likely to be
the first major test of your parenting skills. It is dreadful
for all concerned, but these tips should help you cope with this
difficult time. You must at all times remember that your baby
is not crying to annoy you or to punish you for something you
have not done. It is not your fault that she is suffering in this
way, nor is it hers. All you can do is to help relieve her pain.
Get
more Time, Energy and Money!
Time, energy and money are chronically lacking
in parents’ lives. They are too tired because their children
keep them up at night, they are strapped for time between juggling
work and family, and they spend all their resources on their kids,
the house, the car and the mortgage. Everybody
has a dream. Whether you know it or not, at one time you dreamed
all the time. As children grow, their imaginations grow with them.
Then they become adults, and the reality of the world sets in.
Have you forgotten how to dream? Do you feel as if you have no
time to breath, much less make your dreams reality?
Disciplining
an Infant: Are You Kidding?
The thought of disciplining a child in the first
year of life seems wrong or even ridiculous. Yet every time an
infant reaches up to tug his mother's hair and she gently removes
his grasp, or when he pulls an unsafe object to his mouth and
she intervenes, that's setting limits, that's redirecting, that's
guidance — and yes, that's discipline. Effective discipline
is not punishment. It's teaching. Discipline really starts from
day one.
Our
children interrupt our conversations constantly. Even while I’m
asking them to wait until we’re done talking...
Many parents admonish kids for interrupting, but
in the same breath, they respond to the child’s interrupted
request! Interrupting is habit forming. Like many annoying behaviors,
once kids figure out that they can “get away with it,”
the behavior will continue.
Our
two boys, ages 7 and 9, are constantly fighting. The only thing
that works is to separate them — my wife is with one, and
I take the other. It's driving us nuts. Do you have any suggestions?
Siblings will naturally vie for their parents’
attention, and fighting will be a part of that. It is completely
normal. The problem with separating them too much is that they
won't learn some of the skills that will help them to get along
in the future.
The
Holidays: Obligation or Opportunity?
The days between Thanksgiving
and New Year’s Day creates fathers frantic for the red Power
Ranger, mothers who never bake, sweating and cursing in the kitchen
till 2 in the morning and kids who “need” every toy
on TV they see. It’s enough to make a grown woman cry. We
can lament the crass commercialization of Christmas (and Chanukah
and Kwanzaa).
Redefining
"Grounding" for Your Teens
I invite you to ground yourself
in love and compassion. For thousands of years, great, grounded
teachers have exemplified the power of love and compassion to
generate happiness and to feel the joy of being alive. Ground
yourself in love and compassion, and you will feel that same joy.
How
to Help Your Marriage Survive a New Baby
After a baby is born, about half
of all couples experience a decline in marital satisfaction. If
you have a baby in the house, here are some tips so that you can
prevent this from happening to you.
When
It’s More Than the “Baby Blues”
PPD is a medical condition - a specific type of depression that
occurs within the first few months after childbirth. It is caused
by the biochemical and hormonal changes that happen in the body
after pregnancy and birth … nothing that is within your
control.
I
Yelled at My Kids
I really
hadn't meant to yell, but the aftermath of it lay before me. My
son was a whimpering mess on the floor, and my daughter sat statue-like
on the chair in front of me.
My
Kids Are Driving Me Crazy!
When
I conduct parent workshops, I see the same issues coming up over
and over for parents. The names and faces are different, but the
issues are the same. And the truth is that parents are often responsible
for many of these problems.
15-Minute
De-Frazzlers for Families
15 minutes expressly for
nurturing your children, your spouse, and yourself in a special
way.
Stress - General
Quick Pick-Me-Up
to Destress an Soothe Aching, Tired Legs
Melt Away Tension
With Lemon Balm
8 Ways to Target Your Stress
Points
Hobbies for Busy Women
Others ...
Siblings
Articles and Sibling Rivalry
Siblings
Fighting
Tips to Build Sibling Attachment
Siblings at the
Baby’s Birth?
How do we know if we’re ready to have another
baby?
How to Help Your Marriage Survive a New Baby
Others
Homeschooling
How to Homeschool
Your Child
Building the Unschooling or Homeschooling Village
I do not feel qualified to teach my children
Husband's involvement in homeschooling
Multiple Kids
How should we structure our school year?
Science in the Blink of an Eye
Unschooling
Building the Unschooling
or Homeschooling Village
Can a Single Parent Unschool?
Isn't “unschooling” just a
fancy way of saying you ignore your children? Is that even legal?
