With Laura Minnigerode You thought you’d covered everything. It’s late in the day, your baby is fed, healthy, and their diaper is changed, you’ve jiggled and jostled them until you are exhausted, and they are still crying. Or… You managed to get them to settle only to be woken at 2 am by their
A guest post by Laura Minnigerode Children’s brains are wired to connect with caregivers. And if they cry it means they feel especially safe and secure. Since a child’s limbic system works brilliantly to protect them, they will often find a pretext to offload stress, whether that’s a small bump which causes a big
By Laura Minnigerode Carmela is 21 months old, and a student in my classroom in a community college lab school. Because she loves to play and is not as sleepy as many of the other children she usually struggles at nap-time. Often, the teachers in the classroom will tell substitutes and student teachers, “Carmela doesn’t sleep
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 me stay home”. I listen to him every time, I hold him gently and then I say my “no”. He
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!” Then he went into a rage. I could tell straight away that this was a pretext, a reason he found
Saying no can be hard. Some of us avoid saying it if we feel like we just don’t have the energy for another fight and we skirt around saying “No.” For others it brings up a lot of feelings. Feelings of resentment, guilt, anger or a general feeling of discomfort or unease. These feelings can coerce us
A Guest Post By Lisa Tripp My six-month-old son, has had some challenges falling asleep for naps for several months, but the challenges have gotten easier and sleep has gotten more flexible for him as we’ve been using Staylistening. You can find out more about how listening to children cry and how Staylistening works
How often have you told your child that it’s naptime only to be met with complete disapproval? We know our children benefit from a rest midday, and may of us look forward to that window, either to get things done without another small person demanding attention, or just to rest up and prepare the afternoon and
Have you ever got home from a really crap day where EVERYTHING went wrong? You see that your darling partner has accidentally left the milk out of the fridge and you just LOSE it, ranting and screaming. Seemingly this is over the milk being left out… Has your child ever “flipped their lid” because you
I have been trying to figure out respectful and efficient ways of supporting my six years old unload his negative emotions for a few years. It’s been very hard, even more, because there is no such struggle for me with my two other kids. He is my eldest son and he has a lot of pent-up,
A friend and I were spending our vacation together. Between us we had five children aged from three to six years old. It was their first time meeting. A few times I had perceived a little upset from my son, Lucas. One night, he had not wanted me to leave the room before he fell asleep, and
By Andrea McCracken As a parent, it can be difficult to remain objective and detached from the emotional storm cloud that erupts in our children. When my 6-year-old becomes emotional, it’s easy for me to be caught up in her big feelings, and mine. But watching how teachers at my child’s school respond to big
My three-year-old daughter is used to being listened to and being allowed to voice her opinion. However, this was near unacceptable to my mother. Since my mother often takes care of her (thank you, mum) while I am working, the differences can get difficult. When my daughter expresses her unease, my mother generally makes comments
My seven-year-old son had been being bullied by his classmates for months. It had started with the boys, but soon some of the girls picked up on it as well. Our life was not good, and his pain poured into our family in the form of constant aggressive outbursts. I tried to talk to the
My daughter, 13, and I were getting ready for bed this week when things turned playful. It started because she is a master at picking up any irritation in my voice, even when I’m not aware of it. We joked with each other about the difference between how she experiences things and how I do
Most of us are taught to hush children when they cry, but parents using Hand in Hand’s approach learn how valuable crying can be for a child’s emotional health. When crying is supported with a parent’s warm support and attention, crying can be a unique way for children to unblock fears and uncertainties, but there
I have done a lot of limit setting and Staylistening with my 5-year-old since learning Hand in Hand Parenting’s five tools, and I’ll admit that Staylistening has been a work in progress. Staylistening comes from the approach that children cry and tantrum to release feelings that are troubling them. Parents might be aware of what
If your child has become frightened by a shocking event or words and images seen in the media, they may find ways to indirectly bring up those fears. You might notice a sadness or weight about your child. Or their behavior may be off-track. They might be teasing or whiny or prone to tantrums. For