The Pros and Cons of Kids Room Sharing
My boys have predominately shared a bedroom since the youngest was 18 months old. They are now 8 and 10. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, particularly as they have gotten older. However, for the brief period that they had separate bedrooms, my boys often chose to bunk in together anyway!! Their 3 year old […]
The Keys To Raising A Resilient Child
Life constantly throws challenges and hurdles in our path. Most adults have ways of dealing with tough situations. Sometimes our coping strategies are healthy, other times they are not, but chances are we learnt a lot about how to overcome adversity from our childhood . Often out of love, we protect children from hard situations. […]
How To Run A Household When You Are Sick
Mothers are a pretty stoic bunch. We push through all sorts of hardship and discomfort to keep everything ticking over because we are generally the glue that keeps the household together. But sometimes something will get the best of us. Recently for me it was a nasty virus that ended up with laryngitis. I probably […]
Why Do My Children Behave Better for Other People?
“They were angels,” say the Grandparents. “She’s always so well behaved,” says the Kindy Teacher. “He’s a great at sitting still and paying attention,” says the School Teacher. “He always gives it his best effort,” says the Coach. They are looking at me, talking to me, but I’m really not sure they are talking about […]
How To Get An Unwilling Child to Talk About Issues
Everybody has different ways of dealing with “stuff”. Some people, like myself, are talkers. I need to talk it out in order to process things, work out how I feel and to problem solve. Other people tend with withdraw to process things over time, while others shut down all together and avoid the tough stuff. […]
This Is How Dangerous The Streets Are For Our Kids Today
As I was driving down a local side street during school holidays, I was surprised to see a small group of kids scatter off the road. Then it occurred to me that I was surprised because you don’t really see kids playing outside unsupervised anymore. Even in quiet suburban areas that only get local traffic, […]
How to Encourage Your Child to Include Others
Children are generally a self-oriented, insular bunch by nature. This is not to say that they are selfish, just that they don’t always perceive or respond to the unspoken needs of others. In groups and social situations, this can lead to other children’s feelings being hurt through actions such as unintentional exclusion. Different from being […]
This Is Why Being Affectionate With Your Child Is A Must
Is there anything better than a big smooshy kiss and cuddle from your child? These hugs, kisses and snuggles are one of the greatest things about being a parent. It is one of the easiest and most important ways to express the unconditional love and bond you share with your children. Admittedly, I was raised […]
This Is How To Help Your Girl Navigate Tricky Friendships
Friendships are such an integral part of our lives. From an early age we start connecting socially with peers who are not our family. We might meet them through kindergarten, neighbours or friends of the family and through these connections we start to learn the art of social networking. When we hit school our social […]
What To Expect From Your 11 Year Old
As you embark on the adventurous journey of parenting a tween, here are some helpful tips and bits of information to help you prepare. Cognitive development The 11-year-old brain is becoming more adept and is now capable of abstract thought. Abstract theories such as love and justice are now comprehensible. They are also capable of […]