by Susie Windle | Apr 19, 2017 | Parenting Playbook, Parents: Practice Self Care
As a parent, it takes some awareness to recognize when you feel emotionally low and need to refuel with the company of other adults. Because children count on grown-ups to provide emotional regulation for them as they learn to manage their feelings, this regulation is...
by Susie Windle | Apr 5, 2017 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, The Importance of Emotions
The key to setting limits and staying connected to your child relates to emotions. Tuning in to your child’s emotional state is important if you are going to set a limit that is in conflict with your child’s wishes and desires. Empathize first. Reflect her feeling...
by Susie Windle | Mar 1, 2017 | Parenting Playbook, Sensory Information, The Power of Play
Children live through and learn from their senses. Sensory experiences—what they see, hear, taste, touch, and smell—connect their exterior world with their internal, affective world. The importance of this sensory learning may be why studies indicate that natural...
by Susie Windle | Feb 15, 2017 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, The Importance of Emotions
Parents can help their children develop a sense of moral goodness with an accompanying feeling of obligation to do the right thing. The formation of “conscience” is promoted when parents nurture awareness and the development of feelings. Conscience is also promoted...
by Susie Windle | Dec 14, 2016 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
Children need constructive ways to deal with the range of emotions they experience. To develop constructive responses to emotions, children need to learn how to calm down. We all think more clearly when we are calm. When children especially are experiencing upsetting,...
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 | 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 | Oct 7, 2015 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
When babies reach six to eight months of age, separation distress kicks in . . . and it often continues in some form until children are well over five years old. Understand that your child is not being “needy” or “clingy” when he or she can tell you’re about to leave...
by Susie Windle | Sep 23, 2015 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Sensory Information, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play, Your Child's Brain
Have you ever noticed how kids run around freely for a period of time and then suddenly stop by to sit on their mom or dad’s lap . . . or lean on them . . . or “touch base” in some way? They may stop by for seconds or minutes, and then they are off again. For kids,...
by Susie Windle | Apr 22, 2015 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Parents: Practice Self Care
Imagine our ancestors moving to the rhythm of the seasons and the sunrise and sunset of each day. Though life for them was tough in some ways, they did have more downtime. Our bodies and minds evolved accustomed to taking some breaks. Now we are in the twenty-first...
