Positive Parenting

Congratulations! There is a special event on your calendar this June, and you are looking forward to attending.
Should you bring your little ones to the event (assuming they are included on the invitation)?

May is the new December… especially if you have children in school! There are picnics, band concerts, plays, choral recitals, piano recitals, end-of-year parties, dinners, graduations, start of summer sports, silent auctions, and a whole host of other activities.

Your 3-year-old lets loose a 4-letter word and your jaw drops. You have no idea where he heard this word. . . or maybe you do.
You do know that you don’t want your sweet child using bad language, especially in public. What do you do?

It was one of the sad, humbling experiences of my parenthood. I had just reacted out of anger at my daughter, 4 years old at the time. As she sat on my lap, we both cried and I told her I was sorry. She looked right at me, with tears streaming down her little face, and said, “Mommy, talk to me. Tell me how you feel.”

David is playing with his blocks, and he’s having trouble building a tower. He is getting frustrated. You try to help, but he will have none of it. He knocks the tower over, throws himself on the pile, and screams and cries.

You are at the park with your 3-year-old, enjoying a nice afternoon with the other moms while the children play. Suddenly, you see your son’s friend, Jody, grab at your son’s toy. Sam refuses to share. You cringe and wonder if you should intercede.

Jordan Lewis, Bart Palosz, Eric Mohat, Joel Morales, Rebecca Sedwick have at least one thing in common: They died as a result of being bullied.
Bullying is not a harmless playground rite-of-passage. It is extremely serious and has the potential to destroy many lives.

Many parents feel that praising their child is good parenting – the sign of an involved, caring mom or dad.
But praise can undermine a child’s well-being and interfere with her sense of self-worth and resilience. Instead, encouragement is better. Consider the differences.

Like so many other things, when it comes to homework, having a routine sets the stage for success. That’s helpful because whether we like it or not, today’s children are assigned homework as early as kindergarten.

Last month we explained why punishment is ineffective in building character, creating responsibility and encouraging growth. This month we will discuss two more helpful tools for teaching children to learn from their mistakes and make helpful changes: consequences and a solution-focused approach.