Parenthood Bully Free by: Jenny Sassoon SMF: What words of encouragement would you give to a parent of a teenager who is being bullied in school? JENNY: Bullying is very serious and should be taken very seriously. It is a form of abuse. Every single …  more → […]

Don’t worry! Everything you say is entering into your kids hard-drive. Stay tight, each “rolling of the eyes” may some day come to surprise you later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUj6UyaK3m0&feature=player_embedded

Connection NO HOMEWORK Says Claire Dear Claire, I belong to a discussion group where, for months, experts have been discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of assigning children homework. One side of the argument sees homework as “over-kill” and that “children have enough school work to …  more → […]

Parenthood Understanding Anxiety in Young Children by: Shoshana Hayman It was dark outside. My 4-year-old granddaughter was about to cross the sidewalk, when she noticed a swarm of black ants covering the area on which she was about to step. Alarmed at the sight of them, she froze in …  more → […]

How to be a better parent in 4 seconds By: Jon Acuff A few years ago, I learned a parenting trick that changed my life. It wasn’t complicated. I didn’t find it buried in one of those 400-page-long, zero-pictures parenting books that you often assume everyone has read but you. It’s not even that long. You can […]

Parenthood STARTING NURSERY SCHOOL by: Claire Marketos Dear Claire, Our youngest daughter just started preschool. She and about 36 other kids are meeting every day in their teachers apartment. She was nice enough to loan out her home until the system finds her a classroom. This is …  more → […]

Parenthood Hooray! School! by: Shoshana Hayman If your children or grandchildren are anything like mine, they were looking forward to starting school after the long, hot summer, equipped with their new books and school supplies. No doubt, you, too, are hoping that their enthusiasm about …  more → […]

TEN STEPS TO PEACEFUL BEDTIME

Dear Claire,  

What steps can a parent take to make bedtime more inviting for kids? To what degree do sleep-disorders play a role in poor sleeping habits? …more →

Whether it be  soft or hard, child-rearing in the west is geared for the individual. Do we rely on each other merely for sustenance and without any authentic need for company? What potential growth opportunities and deeper meanings are we possibly ignoring in order to assure our children’s individual safety? During the time when Adrie Kusserow was employed as a nanny in an upper middle class […]

Parenthood DISCIPLINING – PARENTING OR PERSONAL by: Yosef Farhi There are times when a parent must reprimand or punish a child. Ideally, of course, the parent should pause before taking action and think things over. Is he (or she) acting out of love for the child or for some …  more → […]

Unconditional Giving that the Child Appreciates No expectations with no strings attached Plan for maximum two weeks (or simply mention it that often) Involve your child. Let him in on the plan. Point it out, direct his attention towards it — so he may come to appreciate it Doesn’t have to be a toy or object: The goal is to […]

Parenthood Through a Child’s Eyes By: Petrea Hansen-Adamidis One thing that I find grounds me in the present moment when I am having a rough day or week, is to think of what a child would do. Sometimes this brings hilarious images to mind, like the time one of my sons fell asleep with a cookie in his hand […]

To What discount do we brand and label our children? Parenthood Comparing Children: An Impediment to Growth by: Shoshana Hayman Comparing seems to be part of human nature. We compare ourselves to others; we compare our children to each other and to other children; we compare our spouses to others; and on and on. Comparing the heart rate or […]

Creative Moments Spend ten minutes a day of individual time with each child. Whether it be spontaneous or fixed, make sure the time is mutually enjoyable and made top-priority Ten minutes is code for any chosen moment; a chunk of time Individual time with your children should reveal both to you and your children that they are important to […]

A Recipe for Daily Touch Physical touch that’s mutually enjoyable : A child who is not getting enough physical touch in appropriate ways will make sure he gets it in less acceptable ways (hitting, bumping into people, etc.). Physical touch provides an emotional need. This physical touch has to be mutually enjoyable. Don’t force kisses and hugs on a child […]

If we constantly and consistently reinforce positive behavior, the child will constantly be motivated to do good (when I do good, I feel good). In order to improve in this area, we need to work harder to notice good behavior. We naturally tend to notice the bad. How would you like to live in a house where […]

If we supply our child’s emotional and physical needs before he becomes desperate, then we will be able to raise healthy kids. A happy, content child is not looking for trouble. The more we supply, the safer he is. It’s much harder to fix this problem than to prevent it. Most of the schools that work […]

A child will go to extremes to get his physical needs met. For emotional needs he will go even farther (we see this with anorexia, bulimia, etc.). Emotional needs are even stronger than physical survival needs. Children will do dangerous things to get people to notice them. Nobody wants to be just “average.” An average boy […]

A child who has all of his physical and emotional needs met on a daily basis will be happier and safer. Parents can avoid problems with this theory by 85% (children won’t need to look elsewhere to have their needs met) Out of goodness a child is supplied with her appropriate emotional and physical needs By reinforcing the […]