Family relationships are rarely as easy as we would like, and sometimes we
have to work on keeping them peaceful! You'll find lots of ideas and inspiration
below, whether you are looking to improve a relationship with an in-law, trying
to calm your temper with your children, or just hoping for a way to stop the
kids fighting!
Ways of Dealing With Separation
Anxiety
All parents will remember how difficult it was to leave their children when they
were young, and some of us had to deal with unhappy children suffering from
separation anxiety, again and again and again! Veronica shares some tips on how
to make the partings easier.
5 Reasons Why Animals Are
Important To Your Child
Why are children so fond of animals? From teddy bears to favourite TV and
cartoon characters, animals are a key part of a young child’s development.
Children’s educational specialist Stephanie Cooper has identified 5 key areas
where animals play an important role...
No
More Helicopter Parenting! 7 Tips To Teach Your Children Self Reliance
It's developmentally appropriate for children to become more and more
independent, self reliant and responsible as they age. It can be challenging for
parents to know when to step back and let their children try something on their
own. This article provides 7 tips to help parents instil self reliance and a
sense of responsibility in their children.
Never Tell Your Kids
They're Smart!
So math wasn't my best subject. Alright, it was my worst subject. I'm more of a
language person, really. Considering my father taught statistics at the local
university, and that everyone in my tiny town knew him, it was rather
embarrassing. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be good at this," my friends would
ask when they got stuck on a math homework problem. "Don't come crawling to me
when you need a paper edited," I'd snap back. I learned quickly that we might
all have different talents, but that it was hard to focus on the ones I was good
at with a big fat "F" on my report card. On many days, I simply gave up. "Why
wasn't I good at this," I wondered. "I must not be as smart as everyone thinks."
Reduce Your Stress - Your Children Are Waiting!
Mothers are expected to possess huge hearts, big shoulders, a minimum of 3 hands, all the answers and the list goes on! What many mothers forget is they are not born with super hero powers to handle all of those things at once.
What Kind of Lessons Do
SuperMoms Teach Their Kids?
A "supermom" is a mother who puts the needs of her family above her own and
wants to be that dependable person who volunteers on every school committee.
Learn how to shed the supermom cape and free yourself from unwanted stress.
How To Handle A Child Who Hits
You
Quite often parents come to me, worried that their child has begun hitting
others. These children, usually between the ages of 2-6 now strike out
physically at anyone who denies them their wishes. This usually includes their
parents. These mothers and fathers are understandably concerned that their
children are going off in the wrong direction.
Grandparents - Their Joys and Challenges
"I love being a grandparent! You enjoy your grandchildren without feeling
accountable or responsible for them. You realize that you have an influence on
their lives but that ultimately you don't have the final say. Their parents
do."
A Most Important
Word There have been countless debates about how to help your kids become
happy, healthy, successful people in their own lives. And one effective
method of preparing them for their own lives is to give them a heavy
dose of the word that not enough kids are getting today. The word?
Meal Time - A
Family Affair For Many Generations
Having a family mealtime can afford you with a lot more benefits than
you might think. Sure it takes longer, and sure, everyone has to bend
their ever-so-busy schedules to it, but just imagine some of the
wonderful benefits of a family mealtime!
Helping Children Cope
with the Death of a Pet The death of a pet can be a traumatic experience for the whole
family. For a young child, it can also be confusing-it's often the first
time a child must deal with such loss...
Bouncing Back from Mom
Burnout: Going Back to Basics to Recharge Every mom needs to learn how to deal with the challenge of feeling
stressed-out and overwhelmed at times. Life, work, kids, and our other
relationships can add up to create a great deal of pressure, leading us
to feel like something has to give.
Teaching Your Kids Conflict
Resolution If you're like me, you want to teach your kids how to
resolve their little conflicts by themselves. Tattling is inappropriate
attention-seeking behavior, and the tattler is rarely 100% free of
responsibility.
Helping The Aggressive Child Chuck, an active ten-year-old boy, was fidgeting as he was sitting in
the large gold reclining chair. His busy hands and feet were moving
constantly, and his eyes were reflecting his fears. Chuck did not want
to be in my office but his mother, Pat, thought it was important for him
to resolve his problems, and insisted that he come in for one
counselling
session...
“I’M OVERWHELMED” - 5 Tips
On How Parents Can Take Control Of Their Lives
Are you feeling overwhelmed being a parent? Do you want
to feel more relaxed and empowered raising your child? Working parents,
stay-at-home parents, visiting parents – it doesn’t matter which one you
are because these days almost every parent feels overwhelmed by their
daily day. Parents every day experience anxiety, stress and despondency
because they feel as if they are losing control of their natural
balance.
Positive Parenting - Oops! I Really
Lost My Temper With My Kids, What Now?
Ever blown your top to your children, only to regret it ten minutes later?
Silly question, it happens to us all no matter how well-behaved our kids or
placid and patient we are. At times the general strains and stresses of life
wear us down so our emotional responses don’t match children’s behaviours.
Or rather, their less than perfect behaviour doesn’t warrant the ‘screaming
banshee’ response that you have provided.
A New Kind of Calm in the Family
(Product review of the Better Behavior Wheel)
There's a new kind of fun and calm out there in the name of the Better Behavior Wheel, invented by Julie Butler and her family in central British Columbia. In an interesting twist on charts and discipline, this versatile wheel can be hung on a wall or toted with you in the car and on vacations.
Communication Mistakes Parents
Often Make - and Easy Ways to Correct Them
As parents, we love our children and want to do the best for them. At
times, however, the pressures of living every day create stress and
distractions for all of us. We can easily fall into communication habits
that are not effective, especially when we need to discipline our
children or teenagers, or to talk with them about sensitive issues.
The Importance of Fathers
There is no doubt that mothers play an all-important leading role in the
lives of their children. They are the obvious heroes of child rearing. But what
about a father's role? Just how important are the dads of the world compared to
the almighty image of mother?
Mom
vs. Dad: Navigating Parenting Differences With All Good Intentions
Let’s face it: raising children can be quite the adventure. Rewarding at
one turn, challenging at the next – it’s the ultimate roller-coaster for the
parenting thrill seeker. In the Game of Life, you rolled the dice and accepted
the role of co-parent. While the rules seem deceptively simple, (raise child
into healthy adult), the game is often complicated by differences in parenting
styles between partners.
Ideas For Sharing Stories
With Children
This two-part article discusses the ways in which stories and
storytelling play an important role in children's lives. Techniques are
offered for using stories to help develop children's verbal skills and
imaginations. This is part one.
Parenting Discipline - Teaching
Children Self Respect, Self Control and Empathy
For many parents, the words parenting discipline have very negative
connotations. There is the association with their own childhood and the
often unpleasant memories that thinking of discipline raises. Then there
is the association of the word discipline with ideas around corporal
punishment, with spanking, hitting and hurting children.
Who Owns The Problem; Parent or Child?
It is tempting for parents to assume ownership and responsibility for everything that goes on in the life of their child. However, when the parent jumps in too soon to solve the problem or give the answer, the child never learns to trust his own judgment and become a critical thinker.
Parenting - Making A Schedule This article on the benefits of scheduling your day as a parent
really struck home with me. It took me a while to work this out for
myself when I had young children at home, and I wish I had done so - and
benefited from the much calmer household that was the result - sooner!
Being Left Is The Definition Of A Mother
To be a successful mother you must be left. Not left handed, nor to the
left politically, but just left. This necessary abandonment comes in
gradual stages and the steps toward this goal are painful to be sure.
The Uneducated Palate
When did you learn to really enjoy food? How about experiencing taste
and textures? I think children develop a taste for food a lot sooner
than we think.
Ways of Dealing With
Separation Anxiety
All parents will remember how difficult it was to leave their children
when they were young, and some of us had to deal with unhappy children
suffering from separation anxiety, again and again and again! Veronica
shares some tips on how to make the partings easier.
Math Games
for the Active Child
To put it in a nice way, my son is rather squirmy. He doesn't like to
sit still for very long unless he's playing a video game, then it's just
amazing. So instead of constantly telling him to sit down and do his
math, we take it outside or up the stairs, literally...
