by Susie Windle | Apr 16, 2014 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills
Real benefits come along with smiling. As parents, the positive signals that come with a simple smile are worth considering, practicing, and teaching to our kids. Here are a few of the benefits: When you think of things that make you smile, you feel better...
by Susie Windle | Feb 12, 2014 | Parenting Playbook, Parents: Practice Self Care
Parenting is a stressful job. To be a calm, loving, empathetic parent, you need to make time to take good care of yourself. Recharging your emotional battery is required when your job includes broken sleep patterns and tests of patience. If you keep going without a...
by Susie Windle | Jan 8, 2014 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions
Morning routines can create stress in a family. Time pressures and moods can evolve into an emotional storm, with voices rising and good-bye hugs forgotten. Who wants to start the day like that? As a parent, you can help mornings move along more smoothly by planning,...
by Susie Windle | Dec 4, 2013 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Temper tantrums typically occur because connections in a child’s brain have not yet developed in a way that allows for powerful feelings to be managed in socially acceptable ways. This week, we will look at distress tantrums, temper tantrums that are the result of...
by Susie Windle | Oct 16, 2013 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Sensory Information, Your Child's Brain
By the time your toddler is twenty-four to thirty months old, he or she will be able to create mental symbols and ideas. These multisensory pictures allow your toddler to form a mental image of his or her wants and desires, and your toddler can label it with words....
by Susie Windle | Oct 9, 2013 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, Your Child's Brain
Whining, that fussy tone of voice between talking and crying, is commonly heard from toddlers, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a spoiled child. Often, children whine when they can’t truly express their feelings. You are most likely to hear whining when...
by Susie Windle | Aug 28, 2013 | Discipline and Trying Times, Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play
Every child, even an only child, has the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that are commonly associated with the catchphrase “sibling rivalry.” If you look underneath the conflicts that go along with sibling rivalry, you will usually find questions: Am I truly and...
by Susie Windle | Jul 31, 2013 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Your Child's Brain
As parents, we become expert about a child’s body. For example, we know that a fever occurs when our child’s body temperature is above 98.6 degrees, and we know to clean a cut he or she has suffered to avoid infection. It is also important for parents to understand...
by Susie Windle | Jul 3, 2013 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play
Fear is a basic human emotion. We have all felt fearful at some time. Fear is even necessary for survival. So, when we are helping our children deal with their feelings of fear, we want them to develop courage. How can parents help young children look at and release...
by Susie Windle | May 8, 2013 | Parenting Playbook, Parenting Skills, Sensory Information, The Importance of Emotions, The Power of Play, Your Child's Brain
According to many research studies, moving our bodies directly affects our brain chemistry. When we change our physical state, we change our emotional state. This means that moving can help kids reset emotionally, and resetting emotionally will allow them to feel...
