Parenting often involves a whole lot of scheduling. It’s your own schedule, it’s their school and activities schedule, their playdates and homework or screen time. It is a lot to juggle. Get a Master Calendar – We have a desk size calendar on our dining room table and have each year since our oldest was six. … Continue reading Answers to Overscheduling
So often when children argue, parents intervene and solve the issue. Two children are arguing over a toy, a parent enters and decides who gets the toy and what the other child should do while they wait. Or, two children are arguing over who goes first, a parent comes in and picks which one while … Continue reading When Children Argue, Build Their Skills
As a parent, there are so many potentially difficult conversations in front of you. This may include conversations about transitions like moving to a new place or a marriage separation. At some point, you’ll likely have to talk about the significant illness or death of a close relative. Also as they grow, you’ll need … Continue reading Having Difficult Conversations with Children
When my girls were little, I practiced Stanley Greenspan’s floortime with them as a way to really connect with them in play. Here is a post with the basic guidelines of floortime. As they got older, there was a gradual shift from floortime to open talk time. In my family, this shift started around 8 … Continue reading Want Your Older Children to Really Talk to You? Practice Open Talk Time
Does your child get anxious, angry or frustrated easily? In the moment, it’s often best to err on the side of support; rather than, challenging or giving logic and reason as an answer to their emotion. It’s often helpful to acknowledge the emotion, provide empathy and give time and space to let a child calm … Continue reading Helping a Child Learn to Calm Down
I am a firm believer in the steps of positive discipline as a framework for effectively managing most discipline exchanges. An active step is offering your child choices about how, when or where they can do the behavior you want them to do. If you want them to put on a coat you might offer, … Continue reading Finding a Balance in Offering Children Choices
Last summer your four-year-old agreed to swim lessons, and he even seemed a little excited. However when swim lessons started, he clung to your leg and cried through the first lesson. He sat on the side for the next few lessons that followed. Here are some ideas for the next go around: Ask what they’d … Continue reading What to Do When They Don’t Like Lessons
I teach parenting workshops on positive discipline often. At least weekly, I am reviewing the language of I messages, empathy, positive intent, choices and natural and logical consequences. This language is meant to provide parents with a framework for managing children’s behaviors in the moment. It is a flexible and effective approach for shaping behaviors … Continue reading Coaching: Encouraging Behavior Change a Few Minutes at a Time
It’s okay for your child to be frustrated. It’s okay when your child is disappointed. This is not something for you to avoid or fix for them. It is something for you to connect with, and to help them move through. A dad of a four-year-old questioned, “we have a routine when we run to … Continue reading It’s Okay for Your Child to be Frustrated
Mantras are often cited as a good way to calm down in general. When I am stressed about anything, I repeatedly remind myself to, “just breathe, breathe, breathe.” Targeted mantras can help in parenting. A mom, who had been working on potty training for weeks with her three-year-old son, reminded herself often, “no one goes … Continue reading Calm Parenting: Mantras
Parenting by Dr. Rene 