Posts by "skohl"

We expect young children to have difficulties handling frustration. But preschool children aren’t the only ones who get more than mildly disgruntled when life doesn’t go their way.

One of the ways we try to rid ourselves of unpleasant images on TV or in movies is by telling ourselves what we’ve seen isn’t real, or at least not in our lives. That’s a technique we traditionally use with children too.

Most magazines hit the stands with at least one diet or exercise feature. The relationship between good health, eating well, and exercising has become part of our knowledge base. But what about our culture’s fear of aging and its effect on our children?

Books often advise us against intervening, for example, when a child is having a tantrum or siblings are fighting. However, these “blanket rules” for interacting can easily mislead or confuse us.

Positive queries lead children (and adults) to pause and think and even call on their highest understanding. As one six-year-old commented, “Sometimes questions help you learn what you already know.”

Engaging in the themes your child wants to explore creates closeness in your relationship. Those feelings of intimacy fuel your child’s desire to please you and comply with your requests.

We want to ensure that parents use sensible guidelines when allowing their child to visit someone else’s home. We share ideas about this subject because the notion of children needing to have playdates is relatively recent.

It seems especially refreshing for children to live in a place and a time when children would assume a teacher would never physically punish them and feel safe to ask questions so openly.

Beginning a new school year reminds us that people’s feelings vary at different stages of development and sometimes the best thing we can do is talk about them.

Helping children to find courage builds their sense of security. Parents can build bravery by noticing situations when children call on their inner strength.