by Susie Windle | Apr 8, 2015 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Thinking clearly is a lot easier if we have a way to keep our emotions in check. Some researchers refer to this as “separation of affect.” This ability to detach from emotions caused by frustration is a skill that allows people to think through solutions to problems...
by Susie Windle | Dec 31, 2014 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care, Your Child's Brain
Scientists believe a negativity bias is wired into the brain as protection against all the dangers faced over the millions of years of evolution. Our brains are alert to potential threats that might have an impact on our survival. In effect, the brain is like sticky...
by Susie Windle | May 21, 2014 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care
As parents, learning to control our own behavior influences our children and their actions. When parents and children feel out of control at the same time, a caring and constructive interaction is rarely the outcome. One way to stay connected to both feeling and being...
by Susie Windle | Feb 12, 2014 | Parenting Playbook, Parents: Practice Self Care
Parenting is a stressful job. To be a calm, loving, empathetic parent, you need to make time to take good care of yourself. Recharging your emotional battery is required when your job includes broken sleep patterns and tests of patience. If you keep going without a...
by Susie Windle | Jan 16, 2013 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care
If you find yourself too often thinking or saying to your children, “Hurry up! We are running out of time!” it may be time to make some time to evaluate commitments. Otherwise, it is too easy to slip into a mode of continual acceleration and nonstop doing, resulting...
by Susie Windle | Oct 10, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care
There are 24 hours in every day, and we each get to make at least some of the decisions related to filling those hours. If we don’t make well-considered choices, it is easy to get caught up in responding to emails, making phone calls, working long hours, scheduling...
by Susie Windle | Oct 3, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care, Sensory Information
We have all heard the saying “It’s the little things that count,” and we probably have all experienced “little things” counting on more than one occasion. In terms of how this adage applies to our health and well-being, research is showing that little daily practices...
by Susie Windle | Nov 2, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parents: Practice Self Care
As a parent, you will have times when you feel a bit frazzled or on edge. You may notice that your children are getting on your nerves, or you might feel like exploding at something you would normally take in stride. When you recognize in yourself the signs of stress...
by Susie Windle | Dec 29, 2010 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care
New Year’s resolutions center around changing habits. Regardless of whether you are hoping to ditch an unhealthy habit or adopt a healthy new one, you will need to get your mind involved in your plan. You not only have to be aware of the changes you want to make, you...
by Susie Windle | Dec 8, 2010 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care
Heightened feelings of stress are familiar during the holidays because this time of year often includes the extra to-dos of the season, worries about finances, and additional time commitments. The holidays also set the stage for renewing family connections, which can...
