Excess praise can be damaging to our children's intrinsic motivation (working just for the pure pleasure of it - not to please anyone else), but what should we do instead? Constant "good jobbing" is a habit, and habits can be hard to break. But it can be done!
Read MoreIt can happen overnight. One day your baby is happily playing on the floor with a toy while you attempt to tidy up the living room and the next day he's pulling at your legs, terrified that you will leave his...
Read More"See my picture? I made it for you. Do you like it?" When a child comes to you with excitement to show you some of his work, it can be difficult not to respond with praise. On the tip of the tongue is a...
Read MoreI think we’ve all heard the siren call of Minimalism at some point in parenthood. The notion that minimizing your possessions means MORE time for other things is understandably appealing--especially to parents who find themselves overwhelmed with life and upkeep. There is truth to this: simplifying life CAN make things easier…
Read MoreThe sand beckons them. One child reaches for a shovel and kneels, prepares to dig. The other takes off his shoes and swishes his bare feet back and forth. “A sand angel!” he exclaims. His whole body ...
Read MoreEvery three months or so I go crazy decluttering my house and removing nearly all of the children's toys. I'm not an organized person by nature, so while my minimalist goals may never be reached, I find...
Read MoreChildren are magical beings! The development that occurs naturally within the child is completely unseen and uncontrolled by us. But first, you have to get out of their way.
Read MoreDid the kids eat this morning? I didn't see it with my own two eyes, but what have we here? A hodgepodge of mugs filled with varying amounts of milk or water or.... something... on the dining...
Read MoreIt's not just you. Science confirms it - babies smell delicious. They also look like angels when sleeping. And nothing is as soft as a baby's bum....
Read MoreA lack of self-control is actually very common in early childhood. And most of the problem lies with the extremely-slow-to-develop prefrontal cortex.
Read MoreBoisterous or clingy, shrieky or shy, our toddlers give us the wildest ride of our lives and win our hearts forever. Your parenting journey, just like your toddler’s personality, is unique. In this excerpt from the Introduction of Toddler Discipline for Every Age and Stage, you can get a glimpse of my own pathway toward compassionate, gentle discipline.
Read MoreEvery child deserves to know that they are made of stars. From the tiniest babe to the gangly teen, we should be whispering it in their ears. “You are part of something absolutely amazing,” we say. “Your body was part of the very beginning, and it will be part of the very end.” Of what? Of everything.
Read MoreWe call this the "power struggle". It's not fun. Avoid at all costs. "Don't get into a power struggle," the haughty book authors say, while looking down at you from much higher ground - a ground which is typically stood upon by people who have children already in college. "There are better ways to get children to do what you want." Ok, then.
Read MoreChildren, like unicorns, are magical beings, and they deserve a magical childhood. But unlike unicorns, they also have specific developmental needs.
Read MoreWhen your child is having an emotional meltdown, it's hard to keep your cool! What if your child is crying uncontrollably or is kicking and screaming on the floor? What then? No matter what, realize...
Read MoreAt one point or another, we all feel the terrible aftertaste of envy in our social relationships. We see the venal colleague who gets ahead or the layabout relative who repeatedly falls into success. The resulting...
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