Tag: parenting
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Cleaning With Kids
Now that it is summertime, involve children in decluttering the house. They can sort and save school papers that have collected from the year (or throw them away). One way that I handled all those noodle-covered construction paper gifts that my children brought home was a large plastic tub. At first, items would be displayed…
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“I Don’t Want To!”
One of the most common arguments I get to witness is the transition from my program when the parents come to pick up their kids. I wish I could say that itis because I am so wonderful that the kids never want to leave! The truth is much simpler. Children (and adults!) resist transitions. They…
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Consequences, positive (reward) or negative (penalty) should make sense.
When consequences make sense, children are more accepting of them. Cooperation is more likely when there is an understanding between the behavior and the consequence and also when the consequence is explained ahead of time. In my classroom, I have a box of pencils. Most are sharpened, few have erasers. They are plain yellow. If…
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Stop Telling Me How To Feel!
In Kathryn Kvols book, “Redirecting Children’s Behavior,”she addressed the difference between feeling stoppers and feeling encouragers. She goes on to say that “feelings forced underground can cause misbehavior.” I agree. When I have to address a disagreement about a toy, it is usually less helpful for me to say something like this, “We don’t cry…
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Can I Have A Minute Of Your Time?
Children spell love, T-I-M-E. So, give it to them! Yes, we’re busy but two minutes of quality time goes a long way. Let me explain… When I say “quality time,” I mean, not while you’re driving, cooking, answering an email, changing the baby, etc. Stop what you are doing and look in their eyes and…
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How Embarrassing!
A parent was picking their child up from karate class the other day and the child wanted a treat for taking class. The parent didn’t have a treat (or didn’t want to give it – I’m not sure) but the child threw himself on the floor right in the middle of the walkway. I watched…
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Beware The Granny
One year during a summer camp, a particularly lazy camper expressed that all he really wanted to do was play on his phone. So I sat down next to him and asked him to show me what he was playing. It was awful. Apparently, you are trapped inside a haunted mansion and a zombie-looking old…
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Play Pretend
When I was a child, my brother and I ran through the woods inventing all sorts of pretend games. We built makeshift shelters, gathered make-believe foods, and started our own villages. Back then, Gilligan’s Island was popular on TV and we often pretended we were stranded on a deserted island and had to survive off…
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Take A Walk In The Woods
Personally, I get outside as often as I can. During Covid, when we were mostly avoiding other people, I started implementing “Take a Hike Tuesdays” in my summer camps. It was basically just a short hike through a local park. Mostly, I just wanted to get outside and breathe some fresh air, but it became…
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Make Eye Contact
The average American child spends about seven hours a day in front of a screen. It is no wonder we are losing our social skills. Parents, you are doing it too! At the dojo, I see parents on their phones the whole time their child is in class. I get it, you’re busy, but your…