by Susie Windle | May 9, 2012 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
Disciplining your son or daughter can actually be an opportunity for enhancing your connection with your child. Discipline is something you and your child can do together. Punishment, on the other hand, is something adults do to children. Punishment creates...
by Susie Windle | Apr 25, 2012 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
Sometimes parents feel all they do is enforce family rules and arbitrate kids’ battles. Usually three reasons explain a parent’s frustration when this is the case: (1) ambiguous rules, (2) inconsistent follow-through with consequences, and (3) children’s wishes for a...
by Susie Windle | Apr 18, 2012 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Power of Play
One of our basic human needs is to feel a sense of belonging. Children and adults often behave in ways to have this need met. For children, receiving attention is an indication that they belong. This situation means that children need to know that they can ask for the...
by Susie Windle | Sep 21, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
In March 2011, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel concluded that not enough evidence exists to prove that artificial food colorings contribute to hyperactivity, distractibility, and other behavioral concerns exhibited by children. The panel did conclude,...
by Susie Windle | May 5, 2010 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care, Your Child's Brain
Breakfast is an important, foundational meal that fuels your brain and body for the day ahead. When you make time for breakfast, you will be better able to think clearly, remember important information, feel energized, and regulate your emotions. Several cognitive...
by Susie Windle | Dec 10, 2008 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
Temper tantrums for control, referred to as “Little Nero tantrums” by educator and author Margot Sunderland, are very different from distress tantrums. During a distress tantrum, a child’s brain and body are flooded with stress chemicals, and the child experiences and...
by Susie Windle | Nov 26, 2008 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Temper tantrums are the expression of intense emotional storms. Because they are so intense, temper tantrums can be frightening to the child experiencing the storm and overwhelming for a parent. To avoid the whole situation turning into a matter of who “wins,” it is...