Planning and reviewing skills are a piece of building attention span and impulse control. In some of our classes, each week the children have to plan their 15 minute play time. This includes choosing where they will play (only 1 center each day) and planning three activities to occupy their time. Teachers check on their … Continue reading Teach Planning and Reviewing towards Self-Control
Hi Dr. Rene, We are a blended family and have been for more than five years. One of my step children has suddenly decided they dislike me, and will avoid eye contact or any type of interaction with me if possible. I am getting sighs and dirty looks for doing something as simple as saying good morning. … Continue reading Blended Families and Re-Building Relationships
Dear Dr. Rene, My two-year-old daughter is happy, friendly and affectionate around adults, but, aside from a couple of her friends who recently moved away, she just does not seem to like other children at the moment! When I tell her that we are going somewhere to see her friend(s), she tells me that she … Continue reading Two-Year-Old Doesn’t Like to Play with Others
Dear Dr. Rene, My husband was recently on a two month work trip (which will be a frequent occurance). My almost three-year-old son is a fairly emotional child and has always been very attached to me, although we had made significant progress in the past with him being okay with Daddy doing bedtime and being … Continue reading Push Back to Dad Traveling for Work
Dear Dr. Rene, Thank you for the great class on sibling rivalry. My big problem now though is that my one-and-a-half and three-and-a-half year olds are competeing for my attention, expecially physically. If one is sitting on my lap, the other wants to be there too. If I am holding one to comfort their crying, … Continue reading Siblings Both Wanting Your Attention
We rented Super 8 today. Great movie, even the second time. My husband liked the action, my girls liked the humor and, I think, the excitement of seeing something rated PG-13. What I appreciated and paid more attention to this go around, was how it captured being a kid in the late 70s. Particularly the … Continue reading Giving Them Space: Being a Child of the 70s
Today I had a Play & Workshop class on Play at my office, an afternoon consult at a preschool regarding an aggressive child and an evening workshop on Sibling Relationships. In each situation, I had a parent comment about how their own history is impacting their parenting today. When discussing Play, one mom pointed out … Continue reading Our History Shapes Our Parenting
I have a two hour Positive Discipline Refresher workshop currently available through my online service, http://www.askdrrene.com. Below are some reminders and a few examples of using the Steps of Positive Discipline. I messages and empathy are foundation pieces of positive discipline. They are meant to be used as you enter into the exchange. I messages are for sharing (and … Continue reading Steps of Positive Discipline
There are two main ideas for how to manage tantrums once they start. Both ideas start with, “stay calm yourself.” I know, this can take a whole lot of self-control. It can be difficult to stay calm when your child is losing it. Part of it is recognizing that losing it yourself likely just adds … Continue reading Calm Tips
A few good resources about Calm Parenting: Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids: Practical Ways to Create a Calm and Happy Home by Drew Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Runkel 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Covey The DVD serives Celebrate Calm … Continue reading Calm Parenting Tips
Parenting by Dr. Rene 