by Susie Windle | Jun 27, 2012 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Power of Play
When you interact with and admire your toddler, you encourage your child to organize behaviors, communicate ideas and feelings, and solve problems. Your toddler needs your high regard along with the care and comfort you provide. Let’s say your child is coloring a...
by Susie Windle | Dec 28, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
Sometimes children start to define themselves by momentary feelings. If children feel frustrated or lonely, for example, they can be tempted to generalize this temporary feeling. Instead of saying “I feel frustrated,” they say “I am frustrated.” Instead of saying “I...
by Susie Windle | Nov 30, 2011 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Remember “connect and redirect”? Connect to the emotion your child is feeling, and then redirect your child in a way that helps him or her tap a developing ability to think rationally. Connect and redirect is a very helpful strategy for many of those delicate moments...
by Susie Windle | Oct 26, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
The regulation of emotions is one of many developmental processes that children go through. It is interesting to watch children use new strategies as they learn to control their emotions. Language is one of the contributors to improved emotional self-regulation. As...
by Susie Windle | Sep 14, 2011 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
Children are much more likely to follow through on your expectations when your requests are stated clearly. Actually, we all are more likely to follow through on expectations that are clearly stated. Here are some thoughts about being clear: Watch your timing. Most of...
by Susie Windle | May 18, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
Knowing when to step in to help your child if he or she is being picked on or left out of a group is sometimes difficult for parents. Children do need to have some challenges to develop skills. For example, they need to get into arguments to learn how to resolve them,...
by Susie Windle | May 11, 2011 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
As parents, we often miss making a connection with our children by responding to them only from our own point of view. Doing so leaves children feeling denied and all alone. One of the keys to connecting with children is to really listen to them and try to understand...
by Susie Windle | May 4, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play
As a child learns to connect ideas and concepts, certain accompanying emotions may cause him or her to suddenly become disorganized. The child may become anxious or withdrawn or actually feel disorganized. You can help your child by tuning in to the specific emotions...
by Susie Windle | Mar 30, 2011 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
To “feel felt,” children need parents to tune in to their primary emotions. In any given situation, these are the emotions children feel first, such as happy, sad, mad, or scared. When parents connect with a child’s primary emotional experience, a special kind of...
by Susie Windle | Mar 16, 2011 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
When parents use constructive and effective forms of discipline, they are teaching their children how to use inner controls. The effective techniques for doing this depend upon a child’s developmental level. Toddlers, for example, need help as they learn to moderate,...