In his book, Playful Parenting, Lawrence Cohen says, “Play can be the long-sought bridge back to that deep emotional bond between parent and child.” Play invites adults into a child’s world, on their terms, and the giggles and laughter that follow releases tension, and helps barriers fall away. Bonding Through Play Sushila Hart, a nanny
Why do your children play well for hours some days and others can’t go five minutes without calling on you? Your own tension may play a big factor. Children have a way of picking up on stress, whether or not you bring it to them. If you are worried, upset or anxious, they might be
Q: My son is a very dynamic four-year-old. He is attached to me and has a younger two year-old brother. What I’ve noticed is that when we are doing Staylistening, he will sometimes rapidly control his emotions and improve his overall emotional state in such a way that he’s able to go back to normal
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.
My daughter, who is 7, had trouble separating at bedtime, and went through a period of crying every bedtime, without relief or change, when she wasn’t allowed to sleep in my bed. I let her cry each time, hoping it was doing some good, but it was always the same. One night, however, she was
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.
It’s funny how a little Special Time with your child can do wonders for both you and your child. One afternoon when I was feeling somewhat low-key with many pressing issues on my mind, my then 10-year-old preteen daughter asked me for some Special Time. She wanted to wrestle with me. I wasn’t quite ready
My son and I had been having hard mornings. He would wake up, no doubt feeling disconnected, and just ask to watch a show. He wouldn’t want me to talk, touch or look at him. I would see a need for connection and get close to him. This turned into a long session of him