Raising a spirited child takes parenting to a whole new level of exhaustion and frustration. The nights are long and the tantrums are longer. Honestly, it can make you question both your child’s sanity and your own parenting abilities.
Month: April 2018
3 Easy Ways to Teach Your Child to Play by Themselves
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read my disclaimer here.
Which of the following describes your child:
A. My child constantly needs my attention, he is unable to entertain himself.
B. My child moves quickly from one activity or toy to the next, not able to focus or maintain her attention for more than a couple minutes at a time.
C. My child doesn’t know how to play with his toys – the toys end up all over the place and he isn’t engaging in sustained imaginative play.
D. All of the above!
One Strategy to Make You a More Patient Mom
I’m here to tell you about one extremely simple strategy that you can start using immediately to help make you a more patient mom.
Have you ever noticed that some days you seem to be able to handle anything your little ones throw your way, while other days a single glance can set you off? There are, of course, many factors as to what makes a mom lose her patience – fatigue, sleep deprivation, being overworked, not having enough support (just to name a few).
Why Children Need to Take Risks in Play
Are you the laid-back parent at the park that watches your child from afar, or are you the parent that hovers close-by to make sure your child doesn’t take a spill off the play structure?
I’ll admit, I’m the latter.
When it comes to giving my child opportunities to take risks and seek adventure, I err on the side of caution. It takes a major effort for me to stand back and let my son push the boundary on his physical limits.
But early childhood research suggests that taking and managing these risks in play is an incredibly important part of a child’s development, so I’m working on keeping my anxiety in check and letting my son discover his strengths and abilities.
How to Raise a Child who Loves Reading
Every parent wants their child to love reading. Reading is the foundation of all other learning, and children begin building the skills needed for reading long before they actually start school. A lifelong love for reading starts in early childhood with children’s first experiences with books.
To see the joy on your child’s face when they are hooked on their favorite book…there is nothing that compares. So how do we inspire our youngest, budding readers? Here are 9 easy ways to raise kids who love to read:
Healthy Habits for Your Child’s Screen Time
I’ll be the first to admit that our family hasn’t always had a realistic or healthy relationship with screen time. Prior to actually becoming a parent, I had so many ideas about the kind of mom I would be and the rules I would have about screen time for my kids. Because the research on screen time is always evolving, I thought it would be safer to ban it all together while my son was young.
I thought I had it all figured out… and then motherhood actually happened.
Suddenly all my ideas and expectations about screen time went out the window when the sheer exhaustion of parenthood set in. Like many parents, I was looking for a way to get five minutes of peace… whether it be a sip of coffee, a bathroom break, or anything that doesn’t involve redirecting a toddler tantrum.