Playlistening is an invaluable tool that helps a child through situations they feel powerless about, scared feelings and blocked fears. It usually works when there is some roleplay involved, like this story about a girl
“Mom! He’s being mean to me.” “She’s weird. I don’t want to play with her.” “They never give me a turn.” “He won’t let us climb the tree.” “She always gets to go first! Just
Do you know that expression “I used to be a perfect parent, then I had kids?” I think that perfectly describes how sure I was that my children would not play with weapons. After all,
My 6 year old got his leg injured while he was practising sports. Unfortunately, the injury happened just before a school sport’s event and he was not able to fully take part in it, although
We know that play is a child’s work.The best play provides opportunities for fun, and also chances to build intelligence. Because good play has the power to help children laugh through fears and address their
Your child will have big feelings when a special holiday or birthday comes up. It’s one of the phenomena you can set your clock by. We parents wish the universe were governed by forces
A Guest Post from Anca Deaconu and Megha Mawandia In part one of this series on Parenting As a Team Anca and Megha talked about how to become more confident in making parenting decisions. Today they focus on an
Trauma can really undermine a children’s ability to thrive at school, affecting relationships and making it hard for them to follow school structure and directives. Dealing with these behaviours can be taxing on teaching staff, but
My daughter has just turned 8, and as she’s grown I’ve become increasingly frustrated when she doesn’t help around the house. When she doesn’t help tidy up, I start to feel like a ‘slave.’ It’s
In his book, Playful Parenting, Lawrence Cohen says, “Play can be the long-sought bridge back to that deep emotional bond between parent and child.” Play invites adults into a child’s world, on their terms, and
Every Monday morning, just as soon as he wakes up, my son remembers that he’s supposed to go to the kindergarten and starts protesting: “I don’t like it, mommy and I don’t want to go; please let
You have a classroom of kids and plenty to get through, but one, quite clearly has issues with the topic. He or she might withdraw. Maybe they cry. The other children notice and begin to
When I picked up my son from school it was clear to me that he was not his usual affectionate, talkative and playful self. Instead, he was silent, seemed tense and rejected all of my
A Guest Post by By Emilie Leeks Our four-year-old daughter had a growing tendency to be very melodramatic around ‘pain’. If she was in a certain kind of mood and just got touched or gently bumped,
The outburst happened immediately after my two children’s father brought them to my home. My twelve-year-old son wanted to use his father’s phone, but his sister wouldn’t share it. He screamed, “She always gets her way!”