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
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
I had been having trouble getting my 7-year-old to get ready for school in the morning. It often ended with yelling or rushing chaotically out the door. It seemed like no matter how early we
Occasionally he would slow down enough to look over his shoulder to make sure I was with him. I’d say, “Yes, I’m still here. I love you. You can be as mad as you need to be and I’m going to stay with you.” The he’d keep on ‘running’. I have to admit it was hard not to chuckle at how sweet he was, with his little arms pumping away trying to get as far away from me as he could.
I heard a very touching story in one of my classes recently. We were talking about the value of listening to our children’s strong emotions, and I asked if anyone had been listened to in
I had given my son $20 to go with friend to a water park for the day. When he came home he gave me $10 saying he’d used the rest for food. A few days
I was teaching a Playful Parenting class one night and the topic was how we notice when our children disconnected. One mom volunteered to come up and demonstrate what her son acts like when he is
My seven-year-old had a splinter in his hand that needed to be removed. I told him we’d have to take it out and that we’d probably have to use a needle. Throughout the day he
Halfway through the first grade, my 7-year-old did not want to write or spell at home or school anymore. This was new for him. It seemed to me like the expectations for the first graders
“Could you just listen to me uninterrupted for about three minutes? I’m having some big feelings.”
…the listening that my son has experienced has helped him be so compassionate and sweet with his brother.