This one is really more focused on the crucial first five years of your kid’s growth and development. But the point lives on far beyond that. Baby College reminds us that the parent-child relationship is still the MOST powerful influence in a child’s development. (And Smiles & Frowns is really geared towards communicating and building those relationships.) So read on!
Working on good behavior with your kids is a journey that can last from elementary school through high school. And that mean managing the transitions through the tween and teen years. This article and video from the CDC is a great primer to help you understand and prepare for the changes.
We hope Smiles & Frowns is a great kids behavior tracking tool for you, no matter what parenting style you choose. And, boy, are there plenty of styles and strategies out there. Have you heard of “child-led parenting” yet? This one ought to give you a laugh to start the weekend.
“The greatest gift that I’ve given myself during these busy decades is time.” Wow, what a great line and a great bit of advice from a mom, teacher and all-around smart lady. A nice bit of perspective from the parenting section of Yahoo!
If you think the DST shift if hard for you, think about how it affects your kids. They really need sleep to be at their best. Thankfully, parents.com has some great tip to start a few days in advance to help them make smooth time transition. Okay, the countdown is on!
Ah, the power of music. This SUPER SHORT observation has a few points on just how good it is for a child’s brain and body. Maybe it could inspire some musical new behaviors to reinforce. Maybe it will lead to new ideas for rewards. Or maybe it’s just a fun nugget for the weekend!
Helping kids build a strong inner voice means choosing our own words carefully. This one from Parents.com has some suggestions for speaking in ways that build their “emotional abundance”. My favorite line: “These moments don’t cost a thing, but they feed something much deeper: trust, resilience, and connection.”
Many parents intuitively see positive parenting as a good thing. Now here’s a little brain science via Newsweek to back up those instincts. While it doesn’t share positive parenting techniques, it does talk about HOW a positive parenting approach can lead to very positive changes in developing young brains. It’s another piece to the puzzle that may help on your parenting journey.
When it comes to parenting styles, there’s no one size fits all. But from ‘gentle parenting’ to “FAFO (f’ around find out), the most common trends among all parents include prioritizing consequences and forming strong and emotional bonds. (Something a behavior tracker like ours can help you do.) This link from The Independent also includes a bonus video with tips for working with kids with different behavior styles of their own.
This one from CNBC might give you ideas for some new behaviors to define and encourage. (And customizing behaviors in S&F is easy.) The big theme is about resilience. The title of this one originally mentioned “toxic parenting habits,” btw, and I’m glad they changed it. As parents, we’re always working to figure out better ways to do things. This article offers some good perspectives that can really help.
I’ve studied over 200 kids—parents who raise mentally strong children never do 7 things
It’s our job to give kids the tools they need to be mentally strong in life. Child psychologist Reem Raouda has studied more than 200 child-parent relationships. Based on her research, she’s identified the seven things to avoid if you want your kids to be resilient and confident.
www.cnbc.com