by Susie Windle | Jun 1, 2016 | Parenting Playbook, Your Child's Brain
Taste preferences are amazingly adaptable. Other than our innate preferences for sweet and salty tastes, almost all other aspects of what we do and don’t like to eat seems to be the result of experience. Nurture plays a larger role than nature when it comes to food...
by Susie Windle | May 18, 2016 | Parenting Playbook, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play, Your Child's Brain
Your preschooler’s ability to describe a variety of feelings is one sign of emotional thinking. A year ago your child may have acted out angry feelings through aggressive behaviors, but more recently you may be noticing that he or she expresses ideas about anger...
by Susie Windle | May 4, 2016 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Most families have some rules. And that’s a good thing. Family rules, if based on fairness, create a sense of safety for everyone in the family. In addition, a few family rules help kids engage and wire up the thinking part of their brains, which will help them...
by Susie Windle | Feb 24, 2016 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Talking to your baby is one of the keys to enhancing your child’s brain development. How nice that it is so easy to do and costs nothing! Even the youngest babies are learning language, and when you talk to them, you are teaching them communication skills. Whether you...
by Susie Windle | Feb 17, 2016 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Self-talk is powerful because having conversations with ourselves—even silently—links thought, language, and action. Self-talk is really like a delay switch to action allowing us to think things through. Children are great teachers for showing us how language can...
by Susie Windle | Feb 3, 2016 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
All parents experience times when their children exhibit challenging behaviors. Understanding the causes behind those challenging behaviors can help. If we make the mistake of looking only at children’s behavior rather than their level of distress and needs, we miss...
by Susie Windle | Dec 30, 2015 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Our brains are designed to seek pleasure and steer clear of displeasure, so it could be argued that there is no such thing as unmotivated behavior. One thing that gives children great pleasure is getting attention from their parents. That is why our paying attention...
by Susie Windle | Dec 16, 2015 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
This is a good time to remember that joy can be stressful! Joy is a high-arousal state of being for kids. So, enjoy the “joy” and manage the stress. Here are a few ideas for managing the excitement of the holiday season: Know your child’s personality and limits. If...
by Susie Windle | Dec 9, 2015 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Sensory Information, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
If you have a child who finds it easy to do lots of things, from tossing a ball to writing his or her name, it will be easy for your child to figure out how to accomplish tasks worthy of your praise. This child will learn and become aware of the kind and warm feelings...
by Susie Windle | Nov 11, 2015 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
As children spend more time in school, with peers, and in after-school activities, they spend less time with their parents. This shift creates changes in the parent-child relationship. Less direct parental control adequately supports the continuing development of...
