Compass Positive Discipline Magazine Spring 2016
Check out the Spring Edition of Compass Positive Discipline Magazine. It's packed with 40 pages of tips from the top Positive Discipline writers and bloggers!
Parenting on Stage: Life as a Role Model
Wondering how to be a role model for your child? Surprise! You already are. All parents are the most significant role models our children will have in life. The choice is up to us as to what kind of role model we would like to be. They are always watching us, whether we are aware of it our not. They are storing away our responses as clues to how they should respond when in a similar situation.
10 Parenting Tips, 10 Words or Less
For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, I'm sure you are aware brevity is not my forte. In fact, some of my posts are so long I’ve been asked if they are actually novels in disguise.
When it comes to communicating with children though, grownups often make the mistake of doing too much talking. In trying to get our point across, and be understood, we tend to go on in our rationalizing, lecturing, and explaining, hoping they will finally see our point and agree we are right.
The Power Of Not Right Now
Daddy Do It! What To Do When Our Kids Play Favorites
Audio: Joyful Courage Interview
What's your parenting style? Listen in as Sarina Natkin chats with Casey O'Roarty of Joyful Courage about the way we parent and how to shift your style. Click the image or link below to listen.
Joyful Courage Podcast #26: Exploring Parenting Styles With Sarina Behar Natkin
Kids and Media: Formulating a Family Game Plan
Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Making Mistakes
What Children Learn:
Teachers often introduce a discussion about mistakes by showing the children an empty glass and a pitcher of water. As the teacher is talking and looking at students, she pours the water but misses the glass. This usually produces a big laugh from kids. She then asks, “Did I make a mistake or am I a mistake?” This can also be done by making a poster with a mistake on it, or any other mistake that will be obvious to others.
Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Calm Down Strategies
5 Switch Witch Alternatives For Halloween
In case parenting during Halloween is new to you and your family, let me fill you in on the latest trend in candy management. Gone are the days when kids roam free, feeling safe in their neighborhoods and enjoying the pure bliss of securing a mountain of candy. If you thought your kid’s friends would be over for an hour of post trick or treating candy trading, you might be in for a surprise. Instead, a “nice” witch sneaks in, steals your child’s candy, and replaces it with a toy or game.
Quick Tip: The Purpose Of Chores
For more on this topic, check out Quit Whining & Do Your Chores!
A Way Out Of Whining
Is there any sound more annoying than endless hours of whining? Apparently not! A 2011 study published in the Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology found that whining distracts people more than listening to a high pitched chain saw. Performance on tasks and attention decreased more with whining than any other noise they played. Across the board, men, women, parents, and non-parents were equally irritated by the noise, even when the words were in a foreign language. It is a good thing our kiddos are cute!
Should I Stay or Should I Go: Ending Drop-off Drama
Quick Tip: The Way You Come Home
For more on this topic, check out:
Afternoon Delight: How Changing The Way You Come Home Can Change Your Family
Money & Kids: What’s A Parent To Do?
“Mommy, I want that one!” “I have to have the new Ninjago set!” “You’re mean for not getting me those Pokemon cards.” “Every kid at school has an American Girl doll except for me!” A simple trip to the store can become a minefield when you cross into the toy section with a young child. We may vacillate between giving in to the request or denying it, but often without any deep thought or introspection about how and what we want to teach our children about money. Many of us well-meaning parents can get a bit flummoxed when it comes to dealing with money and kids.
Quick Tip: Managing Emotions
For more on this topic, check out:
Meditations For Busy Parents
Many of us have the intention to parent mindfully, but our lives are busy and we get swept along with the tide of action and doing. Meditation helps remind a parent to slow down, to notice the world around her, as well as to notice what is going on in her own mind, heart, and body. Perhaps meditation’s finest gift though is the ability to learn about yourself—what agitates you, inspires you, soothes you? You can then take these lessons into your daily life, helping to enrich your relationships in the process. My intent with this article is to give parents some simple ways to introduce a meditation practice into their daily lives.
Audio: Kids & Restaurants
If you tuned in to the news this week, you likely heard about the cry heard around the world. In case you missed it, I am referring to the little one at a restaurant in Maine who cried for forty minutes. I think we can agree crying, is a pretty normal behavior for children. Unfortunately, the restaurant owner had a meltdown of her own and yelled at the baby, causing an international uproar from parents and a rally cry for every person who has ever been annoyed by a crying child disrupting their fun.
Quick Tip: Shifting Focus
For more on this topic, check out Long-Term Parenting: Destination Ahead