You know, the honeymoon of the first day and week may be over for BTS, but the first month is still a great time to establish some good habits for the year. Thanks to Parents.com for bringing these ideas to the table. Possible new behaviors to work on? Could be!
Author: Smiles & Frowns
Fewer than half of UK children do any housework, survey reveals
Research conducted by Parentkind found children from wealthier households and those in London were more likely to help around the house
www.thetimes.com
The headline might sound like a downer, but the takeaway can be empowering: Chores aren’t a punishment, but a chance to give kids a sense of belonging as a contributor to a strong household. A good read from The Times in London.
Hello world, and welcome to Smiles & Frowns! What started off as a real Mom and Pop and Three Crazy Kids story has lead to a super easy-to-use behavior tracking app – loaded with unique features – that we hope can offer a little peace and positivity to families everywhere.
If you are parent, you’ve been here before. On some fridge, at some time, you’ve put together some kind of positive parenting rewards chart to help your kids master better behavior. We put ours right by the front door where it couldn’t be missed. Made a big old frame. Nailed it to the wall and just kept improving it.
Over the years, people seemed to love the little board we called Smiles & Frowns. Other parents wanted to use it. Teachers we knew wanted to try it. And they all thought we should turn it into an app – including my friend, fellow dad, and coding partner, Brad. So here it is!
Is Smiles & Frowns the tool you’ve been looking for? We certainly hope so. And if you do like it, please point other parents you know in our direction. The more people that join in, the better we can make Smiles & Frowns work for you.
Thanks and good luck out there!
Tom & Brad
The Dads at Smiles & Frowns
While we continue working on great new behavior tracking features – including a Classroom Edition of Smiles & Frowns – we thought we’d share some positive parenting articles that we find interesting and inspiring. And if you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll get a monthly round-up with all these links!
Think of this one as a trail head from the Child Mind Institute. And it leads to the notion of improving behavior by trying to create more, positive interactions with your kids. (Which is exactly what our app is meant to help you do.)
Parents Guide to Problem Behavior
When children struggle with their behavior, it can have a negative impact on everyone in the family. Parents know they need to respond, but they often aren’t sure what’s the best strategy, especially if a child is frequently acting out and nothing seems to work. This guide offers parents a comprehensive look at problem behavior. It covers a variety of topics, including what may be triggering problem behavior, how to improve the parent-child relationship when it becomes strained, what to do if kids are struggling with behavior in school and how to get professional help if you need it.
childmind.org
We’re not the best at following the royals, but we do have a decent nose for positive parenting tips. Thanks to People for bringing us 4 great BTS ideas from none other Meghan Markle! Number 4 – a daily Rose and Thorn – is particularly sweet:)
We thought we’d just keep rolling with BTS-style positive behavior news this week. This article has some great management tips to help parents tackle the new year, including prioritizing self care. Good stuff, parents.com!
And here’s a follow up (that you may read first) from TOI with some back-to-school techniques to help your kids overcome testing stress. See what you think and maybe work with them to see what works for them.
From the wide world of positive parenting and schoolwork comes some really gems (and possible new Smiles) that could help your kids get past the study stall. Hats off to the Times of India for highlighting these supportive approaches as the school year gets going over here.
This is a link back to an older collection, but who doesn’t like a roundup of advice, and The Week has a nice selection for you. We especially love #3, which explains the difference between punishment, natural consquences and logical consequences. Read it up!
