When my son was around four, he had a hard time with playdates. He desperately wanted to play with other children, but these play times would quickly end in conflict. In particular, if a child came to our house, my son could not really enjoy playing with them; he tried to control the play, which
Part 1: Playlistening With Balloons My son loved playing with balloons when he was in control, but he had long been afraid of other people playing with balloons. He didn’t like the sounds balloons made when being filled with air, or when the air was released, or when the balloons popped. One day we were
My son had been through periods of using his small potty, but for some reason, he had become resistant. I tried putting him in underwear, hoping the natural consequences would help him learn, but it didn’t work. He did not want to use the potty! One day, when I was pretty sure he needed to
When my son was almost three years old, I really wanted to attend a conference on the other side of the country. I agonized over whether or not to go. The conference was several days long, so I didn’t want to leave my son at home; I would have to take him with me and
I was just reflecting on how much progress my family has made with the listening tools. Yesterday, I was working late, and my au pair (from Mexico) was eating dinner with my children and getting them ready for bed. The plan was for me to get home before 7 pm to take over the bedtime
Stop spanking and build a healthy discipline strategy both you and your child will feel good about. With Robbyn Peters Bennet, founder of StopSpanking.org, and Patty Wipfler, founder of Hand in Hand. From the Hand in Hand Toolbox Learn how to Set Limits with young children Setting Limits Without Blame or Shame Find your
Q. I’m afraid my middle-school-aged daughter is going to turn into an “angry teenager.” Things seem to be going well for her right now but she can be unhappy, aggressive and moody, and she sometimes gets physical. She had a very hard time in elementary school. Is it possible that she could be working out
Parenting by Connection teaches parents 5 essential tools to work through off-track behavior and build the most important relationship your child will ever know. This short video and the resources below will get you started: A message from Hand in Hand’s Founder Read Read the Listening to Children booklets by Hand in Hand Founder, Patty Wipfler.
My friend and I were doing Special Time together with her 4-year-old son, Cameron, at the local park. There were a lot of bull ants (a large and very aggressive kind of ant) on the ground. Cameron told us that ants were very dangerous, and scary, and that we should get out of their way.
Staylistening With Madeleine Winter Recently, one of the parents in a Parenting by Connection class I was teaching sent me this story about a success with Staylistening to her boy. Staylistening is where we stay close with a child who is upset, listening without comment, judgement, criticism or harshness. We make sure that everyone is
David and his mum came recently to a Parenting by Connection class series I taught, which included two Play Events. This is where families meet for a couple of hours, and the adults play with children just the way the children want to play. We do lots of Playlistening, where the children are in charge