Halloween might be scare season, but kids get scared even by everyday experiences. The teacher who gives a stern look could mean a child gets anxious about going to school. A trip to the doctors office for shots is never nice, but for some kids equals pure terror. Another child in the park calling
By Andrea McCracken My daughter was 7, nearly 8, and developing more concerns about the world. At bedtime, she would lay quietly and think about the mysteries of illnesses, aliens and other potentially scary things. They must have churned around her head because she would come out of bed to talk to me about it, asking
My preteen son is preparing for his first leading role in a school play, and the pre-performance nerves are really starting to kick in now. I decided that an opportunity to laugh off some of those jitters and have some really good connection time would be a good idea. This morning I took him
My son is 7 years old. To him, it’s funny to make toilet jokes and show his intimate body parts to everyone. Not long ago, every evening, while putting on his pajamas, he would wave his penis around in front of me and his sisters. At first I told him that this was not
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,
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.
Remember the games that YOU loved to play as a child & bring them back into your family. Kids love to hear stories about their parents as children – they will love even more to play the games you played “back in your day.”
My 6-year-old daughter and I go swimming once a week together. She normally loves this time and looks forward to it, but one weekend she didn’t want to go at all. As it was our last session for a while, I encouraged her to go, but she made me insist that we would come out
Every night after dinner, around 7:30 pm I play with my daughter, 4, and my son, 2. They decide where we will play and what they want to do. They have been choosing to play on my bed lately. Before we start, I let them know that I am setting the alarm for 15 minutes.
Connection and play saves the evening again!
How long can we simply BE with our children, lighting the way to reconnection, without rushing to solve “the problem”? My daughter and her friend were playing well one day until they both wanted the same blue scarf. They came to me for help, their voices raised, as they both desired to be heard. I
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 me, and got a much needed break from full time mommyhood. I got to spend time with other parents who
The math work itself wasn’t too hard, only the tension she was carrying made it seem too difficult. By allowing her to take the more powerful position in our play she was able to work through the tension so it could dissolve and her intelligence could flow again.
I was teaching a Playful Parenting class one night and the topic was how we notice when our children are disconnected. One mom volunteered to come up and demonstrate what her son acts like when he is disconnected. She got to move her body a lot and ‘feel’ what it might feel like for him. We
It was one of those mornings that are really hard to start. My youngest (6 at the time), was sleeping in more than usual, and I was also dragging myself around the morning routine. By the time she got up and I was ready, it was pretty tight time-wise. I knew if I rushed her to
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
She has a strong mama “preference” and almost never chooses to be with me rather than with her mother.
We were all laughing about “hair washing machine.”