by Susie Windle | Aug 13, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Parents can pass on moral values to their kids, but it takes a little thought and energy. Values are passed along based on what kids see and hear and by what they experience in their parent-child relationship. If they see honesty, they learn honesty. If they...
by Susie Windle | Jul 30, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
Last week Parenting Playbook looked at the distinction between sibling rivalry and bullying at home. This week, let’s look at some ideas to consider when siblings disagree. When siblings are in the throes of a disagreement, it can be easy for parents to feel like...
by Susie Windle | Jul 23, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Sibling rivalry can be seen in children’s ordinary skirmishes over the TV’s remote control or a video game’s joystick. However, what about chronic physical or verbal abuse? And what if chronic physical or verbal abuse is directed primarily at one sibling? That’s...
by Susie Windle | Jul 9, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Sensory Information, The Importance of Emotions
Change is a part of life, but for some people any little change can cause distress. Change can be less stressful depending on how it is perceived and managed, so it is important for children to learn how to skillfully manage change. One way to help children learn...
by Susie Windle | Apr 23, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
What are some of the healthy ways you can get your toddler to cooperate? Here are just a few ideas: Frame your request with an outcome that appeals to your child. For example, “We are going home now and then we can _________.” A toddler’s natural sense of fairness is...
by Susie Windle | Apr 9, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
If parents want to have an impact on an unacceptable behavior exhibited by a child, it is important to prevent it from happening or interrupt it when it does. Reacting afterward is ineffective, which is why punishment doesn’t work well. If you have a child who has a...
by Susie Windle | Mar 19, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play, Your Child's Brain
At times, a child’s challenging behaviors are fueled by his or her need for emotional contact with you, rather than a desire for attention. The need for emotional contact is genetically programmed, so if a child feels that connection is lost, he or she may act...
by Susie Windle | Mar 5, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
As our children become more independent, it is easy to stop paying close attention to them—but then we can miss their cues about what they need. It is important for children to develop a sense of independence, and at the same time it is still important for parents to...
by Susie Windle | Feb 26, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
We all have to wait from time to time—in supermarket lines and traffic, at restaurants and doctors’ offices—and sometimes we must wait with our children. Successfully managing waiting time with a young child starts with adjusting everyone’s expectations—yours and your...
by Susie Windle | Jan 22, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
Parents are often concerned when they catch a child willfully trying to be deceptive. If that situation crops up for you, first consider your child’s developmental stage. Preschool children, for example, may not always tell the truth, but this age group cannot always...
