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 grandma’s house for “the big meal.” “Please, Please, Play” We have two boys, aged 4 and 10, and my four-year-old
“When I first started my Hand in Hand Parenting journey, I used to wish for success stories. Fast-forward 4.5 years, and here I am to share my own. I hope this helps someone know that Hand in Hand really does work! For the second time in as many weeks, my 8-year-old son has shown some off-track
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 bids for connection. Once we got home, he rushed into his room, closed his door and clearly announced that he
instead of telling him what to feel, I simply tried to make myself available for him and really listen. I let him take his time, while reassuring him that I was right there, fully listening to him and accepting him and his feelings just the way they were.
I couldn’t have stopped crying even if I had wanted to. I don’t remember now why I was crying, but I remember the look on my father’s face as he begged me to stop. “What am I going to do with you? All the neighbors are going to think you’ve gone crazy!” It was summer
Although we are friends, we have had to limit the time our son spends with their child, because the kind of language he often uses isn’t appropriate for our son to hear. They were making preparations for a birthday party for their son and our son saw this.
My five-year-old son caught a three-inch long skink lizard the other day. It was very exciting for both my sons. The lizard was given a name and a place to stay. But, by the next day the lizard, which was so agile when caught, moved only slowly. After a show-and-tell of the lizard at school,
he was stuck in “I want to go to the park” land. He whined, cried and begged to go to the park. I tried playing games with him to distract him, to no avail. I made up a song about “I want to go to the park.” He laughed a bit at that silliness, but soon returned to, “I want to go to the paaaarrrrk!!!” I ran around him in circles and tried to get him to dance with me. It only upset him more. His responses to all my questions and actions were, “I want to go to the park!!!” That was when I realized that it was not about going to the park. He was setting himself up for emotional release.
My five-year-old started kindergarten last week and he is almost finished with his second week. It wasn’t an easy transition for him and here is how we supported him using Parenting by Connection tools. Through summer, my son resisted to the idea of kindergarten. “You are going to kindergarten, are you excited?” he was often
When my son was about 21 months old, he started to hate having water poured over his head when I washed his hair in the bath. He would scream and scream every time, even when I was meticulously careful not to get any suds or water in his eyes. After a few weeks of this
My daughter is 3, and she’s going to pre-school now. My husband and I have recently separated. Ella loves school. She talks about it enthusiastically when she’s at home, and she likes being there, but has a very difficult time when I leave her there. She wraps herself around me, clings tightly, and won’t let
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 were significantly higher than those for kindergarteners and I think it was showing in his reluctance. One afternoon, we had
I believe the studies that suggest that TV isn’t really helpful for children because such passivity occurs for the viewer. Yet, I’d let the viewing get out of hand during a difficult few weeks. So, even though I wasn’t over my cold yet, I had a good Listening Exchange, in which my listening partner reminded
Last night, my son (27 months) was having a typical evening, in a pretty good mood generally but, as usual, resisted having his teeth brushed. I brushed them just a little bit, let him brush them the rest himself, and then it was time for books in bed. He requested some water, which I typically
My daughter was given a month to learn all the states and their capitals. She’s in fifth grade. About two weeks before the due date, she had learned some states, but not many, and I made the suggestion that we work together. I offered to help her learn groups of about six states at a
It felt like an MFA in parenting! I think he really got the message that I love him and accepted his feelings and would not punish him for sharing them. Which now I realize I WAS doing in the past even though I had NO IDEA I was doing that!