By Shaheen Merali and Kate Orson Sibling rivalry is an inevitable challenge of raising more than one child. No matter what the age difference or personalities of the children, sooner or later, every child with siblings gets upset with their brother or sister. But don’t fret and think this is a sign of how it
You may have noticed that when children say “I’m tired,” they may not always mean it. Sometimes, “I’m tired” actually means “I’m starting to feel some uncomfortable feelings, and I can’t think of any other way to tell you.” If you suspect your child is trying to communicate this the next time you are walking,
You may have dreamed that co-sleeping would be cozy but then found yourself tossing and turning, or you may have dreaded it and still ended up with tiny toes tickling your nostrils each morning. If having children in bed with you isn’t working out, for whatever reason, you might have to help your child through
Need help getting anywhere with a little one in tow? When our kids first learn to walk, they may be so determined it’s hard to stop them. However once the novelty wears off there may be moments when we’re on our way somewhere and they get grumpy, whiny and don’t want to walk on there own.
One mainstream response to ”attention seeking behaviour” is to ignore the bad and praise the good. But this doesn’t address the underlying upset feelings that are always beneath our child’s off-track behaviour.
I’d love to live in a world where my daughter could take her time, where I could just open the back door and she could run out and play with other children all day. Unfortunately our world is not that simple. Most of us out of necessity have to, at least some of the time, get our children out of the house. And we a have a time limit.
How do you feel when your children say, “Play with me!” Are you filled with excitement and joy, and rush over, saying, “Yes, of course!” If this is the case every time, then you don’t need to read this post. ?
a guest post by Kate Orson Sleep advice for babies and toddlers usually comes in two forms. There is the strict ‘cry it out’ approach where we leave children alone till they learn we won’t respond at night, or the more gentle ‘wait it out’ approach where we simply wait until they naturally start sleeping
When we were young there was little understanding of the importance of listening to children with warmth and patience, so our parents couldn’t give us a model of how to do this. Our unheard feelings from our own childhood get triggered in challenging moments with our children.
We’ve all been through it. That moment where you catch yourself saying things that you regret later. We all say things that don’t exactly sound like the loving, peaceful parent that we intend to be. It can feel like we are channelling an adult from our distant past, and we wonder why we have
Our parenting will never be perfect. Our children will inherit some hurts and fears from us. But play is a wonderful way children can make sense of their world, and tell stories. When we can play with them we can pick up on what makes them laugh, and help them release fear and upset.
a guest post from Kate Orson, a Hand in Hand Parent Shyness is a label, often put on children, but actually it’s just a set of reactions to a certain situation. Who has a ‘shy’ child who can act totally confident and extrovert in some situations but not others? Have you noticed that sometimes it’s
Contrary to popular belief we should actually wind our children up before sleep! Roughhousing, and lots of giggles, can help children release any stress or remaining tension from the day. It also helps to build the connection that children need to feel safe to separate from us and fall asleep.
Aggression is common in toddlers, but that doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. The Hand in Hand Parenting philosophy is based on the fact that all children are naturally, good, loving and co-operative. Sometimes hurt feelings overwhelm their limbic system – the emotional part of the brain, and when this happens, their pre-frontal cortex – the part
By Kate Orson When it’s time to say goodbye to our child we may often hear the advice that it’s best to rush off even if they’re crying. Later we may be reassured by their caregiver that they stopped crying as soon as we left and were fine. However we may be worried that our
When it comes to picky eating it can be hard to find a solution that is fun, connected and playful. On the one extreme we can simply let our child survive off yoghurt and spaghetti with tomato sauce, with underlying worries about their nutrition. On the other extreme we can try the ‘threat of starvation’
After a bit of laughter our child is often much more likely to co-operate with us without a power struggle. Here are ten awkward moments where laughter can save the day. Repeat as necessary until the giggles (or you!) are exhausted.
My grandmother died when my daughter was two years old. My grandmother and I had been really close, so I was devastated. For a while it was hard to do the simplest of tasks, like getting out of bed, or making a cup of tea. Just looking after my daughter’s basic needs was all that