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ARTArticle*** 28 Ways to Deepen the Bond with Your ChildLike any good relationship, the relationship with your child can benefit from thoughtful gestures that help your child feel special and deeply loved.
It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities of parenting that we sometimes forget to add touches of love that can deepen the bond with our children.
I'm going to suggest 28 small, loving gestures that will add sparkle to your child's day without much effort on your part as you juggle the many demands of parenthood. Perhaps you want to try just one? Or perhaps you can try one each day this month?ARTArticle*** Are You a Discipline Wimp?Your child wants ice cream at bedtime. You say “No” but your child persists, whining and bugging you until you finally give in to stop the incessant whining.
Your child wants to play with a friend, but you’ve said “No friends until your book report is done.” A friend calls to ask your child to a new movie that’s opened. You let him go to the movie, saying he can do the report that night.
Your child doesn’t pick up his/her toys when asked. You end up picking the toys up for your child.
You tell your child that s/he is grounded for a week.ARTArticle*** Are You an Empathic Parent?If your child walks in the door with her shoulders drooping and her face forlo
do you say something like “You look sad. Come in and tell me what happened.”
Or if your child is stomping around do you say “You seem upset. Your feelings are important to me. Let’s talk.” Or do you tell your child ...ARTArticle*** Are You Too Child-Centered?Thirty or 40 years ago parenting in an authoritative manner i.e. "Do it because I said so and I'm the parent" was the cultural norm.
"Children should be seen and not heard" was a mantra that many of our parents used. We weren't asked about what we wanted for dinner, we weren't offered choices, ...ARTArticle*** Are You Too Child-Centered?Thirty or 40 years ago parenting in an authoritative manner i.e. “Do it because I said so and I’m the parent” was the cultural norm. “Children should be seen and not heard” was a mantra that many of our parents used. We weren’t asked about what we wanted for dinner, we weren’t offered choices, we didn’t negotiate with our parents. Our parents would simply “lay down the law.”
But cultural norms for parenting have changed.ARTArticle*** Best Tips for Reducing WhiningHow many times have you heard “It’s not fair!” and responded, “Well, life’s not fair, get over it!” Probably more times than you’d like to count!
Or perhaps your child wants to do everything her friend gets to do and says to you “Emily gets to do it, why can’t I?”
When talking with your ...ARTArticle*** Breakfast Tips for School SuccessYou really want your child to have a great school year. You’ve bought the right school supplies, new outfits and a back pack. The transportation plan is in place. Your child has met his/her teachers.ARTArticle*** Care to Tame the TV Monster?Consider that the average American child watches four hours of television a day. By one estimate, when U.S. children finish high school, they've spent nearly twice as many hours in front of TV sets as they have in the classroom.ARTArticle*** Does Your Child Have EQ?EQ?! What’s EQ?ARTArticle*** Firm Up Your Discipline with This Helpful Tool!Why is it so hard for parents to be consistent when disciplining their children?
Many factors come into play. How tired are you?! How persistent is your child? How were you disciplined? What kind of parenting style do you have? Does the other parent agree with you on discipline methods and ...ARTArticle*** Helping Your Child with September TransitionsTransitions happen every day in your child’s world and September, like no other month, is a time of transitions for your child. Starting a new grade. Getting a new teacher. Learning new classroom rules. Adding more homework. No matter what the transition, you can expect an added level of stress as your child adapts to the change.
When making the transition to a new grade, your child will be challenged by more rigorous academic challenges, more social demands and more responsibility.ARTArticle*** Is Praise Harmful to Your Child?Can your well-intended words of praise actually be harming your child? The answer to that is “yes” and “no” depending on what words you choose, how sincere you are and how old your child is.
Complicated? Yes, it is.
One of the researchers that I like best is Carol Dweck. Dweck has spent the last 40 years studying what factors help kids succeed and fail. She wrote a book summarizing her findings called, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.”
In regard to praise, Dweck did a study where students were given an intelligence test using puzzles.ARTArticle*** Keeping Attachment StrongA friend shared a wonderful story recently in a seminar o
"Smart Parenting." She said that ever since her children werenlittle, she's set aside special one-on-one time with each of hernchildren. She made a commitment to do this once a week andnput it on the calendar. As her children became ...ARTArticle*** Limiting Presents for an Extra Special Holiday SeasonLet’s turn this holiday season upside down. Let’s shift the focus to giving rather than receiving. Let’s spend more time with our kids rather than spending time being frenzied in stores. Let’s help our children develop the gift of generosity.
With the country facing difficult economic times it’s an ideal time for us to shift the focus of our giving to others. Helping others feels good. Creating hand-made gifts and cards for others feels good. Donating gifts to others feels good.ARTArticle*** Seven Steps for Holding Kids AccountableThe biggest change in kids, according to a teacher of 27 years, is that kids these days don’t take responsibility for their actions.
Kids are quick to blame others and make excuses for mistakes rather than saying, “I messed up.” Unfortunately, parents are quick to provide excuses for their kids, too, said Kevin Scroggins, a 2nd grade teacher at St. Odilia’s.
I agree and I’d like to offer some suggestions on how you can build a mindset in your child that says, “I’m responsible for my behavior,” rather than blaming others.
1.ARTArticle*** Start the School Year Out Right with These Homework TipsKids these days have twice the amount of homework that we did. And when your kids have homework, you have homework, too. I’d like to take this opportunity to share tips from Irene Gutmann, an academic coach who works with teens and college students on achieving academic success. Also, I’d like to invite parents of elementary school-aged children to attend my “Relief for Homework Headaches” teleclass scheduled for Fri., Sept. 22 at Noon CT. (See the class schedule for full details.)
1.ARTArticle*** Steps Parents Need to Take to Prevent Sexual AbuseHave you taught your child about “good touch/bad touch”? That’s a good place to start, but not enough to protect your child from possible sexual abuse, according to Libby Bergman, executive director of the Center for Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment.
“Children need to know the difference between what touches are acceptable and what touches are not. They also need to be taught about stranger danger, but these methods put the onus on the child.ARTArticle*** Stop Annoying Back Talk Now!Let’s say you ask your child to do a simple task like feed the dog. The next thing you know, you hear “Why do I always have to feed the dog?”
Or maybe you hear sarcasm and a smart-alecky tone of voice while your child says, “You don’t really expect me to do that?”
Makes you long for the days ...ARTArticle*** Surprising Secrets to a Successful SummerYou’re probably busy planning every detail so your kids can have a memorable summer packed with vacations, summer camps, sports activities and more.
As you finish your planning, be sure to allow time for three surprising activities that are research-proven to help your child’s emotional, neurological and physical well-being.
Secret #1: Allow time each day for unstructured, child-directed play (or free time for adolescents).
Research is emerging that the hectic lifestyle that many parents have chosen for their children may be harmful to a child’s development.ARTArticle*** Tips on Curbing Tattling“He did it.” “She looked at me!” “He stole my iPod.”
For parents, it can be really tough to know how to handle tattling. Do you ignore it? Do you let them duke it out? Do you plug in your own iPod and drown it out?
Here are a few options for you to try and see what works for you.
Option #1: ...ARTArticle*** Tips on Curbing Tattling“He did it.” “She looked at me!” “He stole my iPod.”
For parents, it can be really tough to know how to handle tattling. Do you ignore it? Do you let them duke it out? Do you plug in your own iPod and drown it out?
Here are a few options for you to try and see what works for you.
Option #1: Define the difference between tattling and telling.
It helps to be clear with children about when it’s important to tell an adult about upsetting behaviors.ARTArticle*** What to Do Dbout LyingA new survey shows that the average adult tells four lies a day, or 1,460 lies a year. Is it any wonder that our children tell fibs, too?
Yet chances are when your child tells a whopper, it makes nyou mad.
Why do kids lie?
Kids lie for lots of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is to avoid ...ARTArticle*** What’s Up With Your 8-11-Year-Old?If you’re the parent of an 8-to-11-year-old, perhaps you’ve noticed a surge in back talk, defiance and sensitivity. Simple requests may be met with intense outbursts. You may be asking, whatever happened to my amiable child who liked pleasing me? If so, you’re not alone!ARTArticle*** Why is My Child Misbehaving?I know that as parents we’ve all wondered, “Why the heck is she behaving this way?” Or “Why on earth can’t he just behave?”
I’d like to offer you some ideas today about common causes of a child’s misbehavior. I’ll also offer some pointers on how to address the misbehavior if you get a gut feel about the reason behind the misbehavior.
There’s a wonderful book called “The Parent’s Handbook” by Don Dinkmeyer and Gary D. McKay, that helps to demystify some of the reasons that kids misbehave.ARTArticle10 Tips For Back-to-School Success!Almost all of us dread the end of summer. Kids are reluctant to get back into the routine of early mornings, structured days and the homework that school brings. And many parents are also reluctant to get back into the routine of early mornings, structured days and homework!
Whether your child ...ARTArticle2 Ways to Break Your Communication StalemateHave you ever wondered how a casual conversation with your mate can somehow end up an argument? Maybe you two started out talking about something as mild as the weather and in some way one or both of you were triggered and ended up shutting down. If you’re tuned in to yourself and your ...ARTArticle3 Mistakes Typically Made By Parents of Children Diagnosed with ADHDAs a mental health therapist, I often witness parents making three mistakes when their children are diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. If you are a parent of a child or adolescent diagnosed with ADHD, read on to find out if you are currently making these mistakes, and what alte
ative approaches to ...ARTArticle3 Positive Parenting Tips to Help Guide Your Child or Teenager to Choose to Go to SchoolWhy is it important for every good parent to send their children to school? I know, I know, it’s a generic answer, which, is to offer our children a better life. So, is it important for them to go to school or important for you to have them go to school? Interesting question, isn’t it?ARTArticle3 Sexy Lessons for Seducing Your WifeWhether you’ve been married a year or a decade, you’ve probably discovered that sex can go stale, no matter how much you love your partner. Keeping sex hot in a monogamous relationship is a challenge—but can you think of a better one to tackle?
As any sex therapist will tell ...ARTArticle3 Surefire Ways to Get Sex from Your PartnerFor some people, letting their partner know when they want to have sex turns into a big problem. They seem to only ask their partner for sex in one way all the time, no matter what is going on in their partner’s life. So it’s no wonder that when they ask for sex, they end up with a big, fat ...