by Susie Windle | Sep 12, 2012 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
As emotional beings, we all need more than food and water to feel satisfied and healthy. Eric Berne, a psychologist, first coined the term “psychological hungers.” Three of the psychological hungers he first identified were stimulation, recognition, and structure....
by Susie Windle | Aug 29, 2012 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play, Your Child's Brain
When all is going smoothly—meaning the children are happy and the parents are too—it seems easy to be respectful. When kids are doing something they aren’t supposed to be doing, such as pulling on the dog’s tail, knocking over a sibling’s tower of blocks, or avoiding...
by Susie Windle | Aug 22, 2012 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Sensory Information, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
How we all make sense of things and create meaning from our experiences depends on our state of mind. As parents, our state of mind importantly affects how we create the meanings tied to the behaviors exhibited by our children. Specifically, it’s important to notice...
by Susie Windle | Jul 18, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Most parents know from experience that telling stories can both distract and calm down children. Now there is science to explain how and why stories are so important and powerful. The right side of our brain processes emotions and autobiographical memories. It is our...
by Susie Windle | Jun 13, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Power of Play, Your Child's Brain
Around 3 to 10 months of age, your baby will be able to communicate what he wants, and he might become a little bossy in the process. Even babies like to be in charge now and then. This means that sometimes your love bug might get angry when you want to be in control....
by Susie Windle | Jun 6, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Your little miracle is born with a brain that is still in the process of developing, and you get to play a major role in nurturing that development. Here’s why . . . At birth, your child’s brain is actually unfinished—particularly the higher brain, which is the newest...
by Susie Windle | May 30, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Our relationships with others affect nearly all aspects of our lives. When people have good social skills—and the strong interpersonal relationships that follow—they feel good about themselves, are more productive, experience greater job satisfaction, and are...
by Susie Windle | Mar 14, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Effective social behavior is fundamental to living life. Caring about others, getting involved with others, recognizing friendship, and appreciating intimacy are important parts of our lives. We need connection with other humans, and social activity is foundational to...
by Susie Windle | Feb 22, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
The brain is more than a single organ inside a single skull. The brain is social and thrives on relationship. As scientists have learned, what happens between brains has a lot to do with what happens within each individual brain. As parents and caretakers, it is...
by Susie Windle | Feb 8, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Last week we discussed how to connect physical sensations to emotions as one way to help children become more aware of their specific feelings. Being aware of emotions is the first step toward deciding what to do next. Another way to help your kids make connections to...
