Making the Decision About TV and Children Under Two
Discover why the AAP recommends no screen time for children under two, and read one mom’s struggle to abide by that guideline. Continue reading
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Tag Archives: parenting choices
Steps Toward Parenting with Positive Reinforcement
This is a guest post by Madoline Hatter. During the formative years of your children’s lives, you have much influence in how they view the world. In order to embrace certain attitudes or prevent others, much can be done on your behalf to help your kids develop a positive outlook on life. Using positive reinforcement over negative discipline can shift the way your child looks at any given task. Negativity Breeds Negativity When you focus on negative outcomes regarding misbehavior, the child’s focus is on that negative aspect of life. Too many negative thoughts can be detrimental to a child’s development as he or she learns to always look at the bad side. Instead of respecting you as parents, your children could fear you due to the disciplinary actions that could ensue for any given rule that is broken. Focus on the Positive Positive reinforcement doesn’t have to mean that … Continue reading
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Top 5 Benefits of Co-Sleeping
It’s been a little over a year since Sofie moved out of our bedroom. She was five and a half. Many parents might raise their eyebrows over that, but I know there are even more who are nodding in recognition. We didn’t start out intending to be a co-sleeping family, but fell into it naturally and, for the most part, it worked for us. For three and a half years, our family bed consisted of a queen bed and a twin pushed together. Then we moved Sofie’s twin into her own bedroom (to entice her there), although she slept on a mat in our room for quite a bit longer. It provided some distance and worked well as a transitional stage. Now that she’s gone, I sometimes long for those co-sleeping days and rejoice when she crawls into bed with us on weekend mornings. Everyone sleeps better Which is definitely what … Continue reading
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BE YOUR OWN YOU! Girls and Self-Esteem
Since the moment I knew I was having a baby girl, I wanted her to be strong and confident and brimming with the self-esteem that eluded me as a girl. (Do mothers of sons have these thoughts, or do we naturally assume boys are born with loads of self-esteem?) I still struggle with maintaining confidence in who I am or what I do. Feeling “not enough” is one of my gremlins. So how do I teach my daughter what I never learned? And what exactly is self-esteem? One dictionary offered two contradictory definitions: self-es•teem (noun) 1. A realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself; self-respect. 2. An unduly high opinion of oneself; vanity Those who follow the second definition equate self-esteem with conceit (ridiculous, isn’t it?) and therefore tend to see it as a bad thing. They use phrases like “having a big head” or “getting too big for your britches.” Sadly, these parents usually have low opinions of themselves because they too were raised … Continue reading
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Don’t Apologize… and 5 More Tools for Positive Discipline
At six-and-a-half, my daughter appears to be growing into a mature, caring person. She expresses her feelings and shows compassion for others. (I‘ve even witnessed her self-regulate TV time!) Something’s apparently working, and when I consider how we raise our daughter, I suspect these six tools have been effective in her emotional development. 1. Listen With Respect Everybody wants to be heard. This is even truer for kids whose emotions and ideas spill out at warp speed. Constantly undermining that with “Be quiet” or “Not now” dismisses the equal importance of what they have to say. This requires really listening to what happened in school today or the detailed account of last night’s dream. Asking specific questions (“So how big was this tutu-wearing purple monster?”) demonstrates caring. It’s a heady feeling when we have someone’s full attention. Kids feel it and blossom from it. Click here to read the rest of my article over at Shalom Mama. I talk about five … Continue reading
