By Kirsten Nottleson On Thanksgiving morning, my husband and I were both feeling a stressed trying to get the turkey, pie, cranberry relish, and salad ready to pack in the car. We were off to
If you were to see a job description for a role where non-stop, around-the-clock care was compulsory, and there was no training and no overtime, would you take it? Probably not! Yet, it’s what we
Is getting ready for school making you all stressed every morning? Do you find yourself screaming “We’re gonna be late!”… …only to find your son still sitting around in his pyjamas? Do you ask yourself why you
In the middle of preparing for a talk on Separation Anxiety with my fellow Hand in Hand Instructor, Anca Deaconu, my children decided to give me the perfect opportunity to practice what I preach. It
instead of telling him what to feel, I simply tried to make myself available for him and really listen. I let him take his time, while reassuring him that I was right there, fully listening to him and accepting him and his feelings just the way they were.
We started setting limits with cartoons about two years ago. My son would ask for just one more cartoon, and I would stand my ground and simply tell him, “Not now,” or, “You can watch some more tomorrow—but not now.”
Every night after dinner, around 7:30 pm I play with my daughter, 4, and my son, 2. They decide where we will play and what they want to do. They have been choosing to play
I recently attended the Hand in Hand Weekend Retreat and wanted to report on what happened upon my return home. The retreat was wonderful. I was surrounded by beautiful redwoods, had fabulous meals prepared for
My 2.5 year old son had just transitioned to a new daycare. He had been there three days, and he had done very well with the transition. He was asking excitement in the morning to
I kept listening to my children because I saw their positive transformation and because we felt closer even though it wasn’t easy to do. I kept listening because I gradually remembered and worked on my childhood and came to think I would have liked it if I had been listened to back then.
I was so sad when they were not getting along and my oldest was hitting and biting, particularly because I had read so many books and was from the beginning practicing attachment parenting and positive discipline.
I wasn’t sure if she would be different after in the days following, but now that a few weeks have passed I can tell you the answer is yes…My frenetic daughter, whom people often would suggest was hyperactive, is now calm and even-keeled. She remains an energetic, highly curious child, but no one would ever use the word hyperactive.
My husband was putting my daughter to sleep at bedtime when she realized she had left her lovey, “Twinkle Bug,” at her girlfriend’s house after a sleepover. She started to freak out, screaming, “I cannot
Usually I do about ten minutes of special time with my three year-old son a couple of times a week. Although ten minutes of special time always seems like such a short amount of time
The time had come to wean my healthy toddler from night nursing. He was down to just a couple of times of nursing at night, but it was still disruptive for all of us. No