So much controversy these days surrounding choice. The positive powers of choice are immeasurable but can sometimes be harmful. I’m a huge believer in providing children with choices whenever possible. Giving them power over the guided choices they need to make is essential to building good self-esteem and empowerment (and, parents, leads to much lessContinue reading “Choice; What is Your Choice?”
Category Archives: parenting toddlers and youth
How Do We Teach Our Youth to Hate?
Bullying doesn’t only happen in schools and teaching children to hate and justify bullying starts at a youth’s extremely young age and can carry through to adulthood. That’s not to say that if a child bullies he/she is bad and will always be a bully. When my kids were very young, they were outside playingContinue reading “How Do We Teach Our Youth to Hate?”
Catch Them While They’re Young
From a very young age, children know the difference between right and wrong. They’ll lie to cover up their own wrong doings even though the lies are often nonsensical. It can be tempting to view their stories as cute and entertaining and let them go, but don’t fall into the trap of letting them go.Continue reading “Catch Them While They’re Young”
What Do Our Youth Need?
Some of our happiest days were when our home was filled with our children and their friends whose family origins began in a wide variety of countries and a variety of sexual identities. We had a rainbow rich with learning, laughing, and loving and we came to know, first hand, that what we all hadContinue reading “What Do Our Youth Need?”
Batteries! Lights! Bleeping! What’s Under Your Tree?
With the holiday season being upon us, our focus turns to the latest and greatest toys (which are often electronic) in the store. There is nothing wrong with electronic toys here and there but the toys of quality are books and those that require imaginative play. My kids won’t even be married until summer ofContinue reading “Batteries! Lights! Bleeping! What’s Under Your Tree?”
Petitions
OPINION: I must get 5 bazillion petitions to sign in my email every day. (MAYBE they just want my signature but are too shy to ask?) Today’s petition contained the following verbiage: “Young black and brown girls have long been the victims of discriminatory rules and punitive practices that push them out of the classroomContinue reading “Petitions”
How Do I Answer That Question?
Kids notice random things and they ask SOOOOOOOOOO many questions. Sometimes the questions are never ending but that’s a good thing. They are thinking and learning. Once in a while it’s fun to ask them, “What do you think?” then “Why do you think that?” Praise guesses and reasoning when they’re wrong but not falsely.Continue reading “How Do I Answer That Question?”
Not-So Terrible Twos
HAHAHAHAHAHA you thought YOU were in charge at your house? Your toddler begs to differ. While “NO” seems to be the word of the day, you can solve that problem pretty easily by giving your young ones a choice. They want to exert their independence but they obviously can’t be allowed to run the house.Continue reading “Not-So Terrible Twos”
Empathy
Empathy is one of the qualities that, in my opinion, makes the world a better place to live. When one possesses empathy one is able to put self in the place of others and understand their joys and pains. It is how we find it in our hearts to donate to charities, help our neighbors,Continue reading “Empathy”
POSITIVE KIDS 