The best praise is focused on your child’s effort, not your child’s traits. The same is true of criticism. stripslashes(strstr(” “, “class=”) ? “” : “”)In one study by Columbia University researchers, kindergarteners were given a scenario: a teacher asks them to create a house out of Legos, and they forget to put in windows. Then […]
My 18-month-old struggled to buckle the straps on her high chair. “Almost,” she muttered as she tried again and again. “Almost,” I agreed, trying not to hover. When she got it, I exclaimed, “You did it! It was hard, but you kept trying, and you did it.” stripslashes(strstr(” “, “class=”) ? “” : “”)The way I praised […]
“I can’t get my 1-year-old to eat produce anymore,” a stranger said, with a hint of desperation, as we stared at the frozen blueberries in Costco. “He used to like bananas, avocados … now he doesn’t! I don’t know what to do.” Mama, I don’t know what made you ask me, but you are asking the right person! I have a […]
When kids misbehave, it’s so easy to say, “That’s it—time-out!” It can become parents’ go-to punishment in any situation. I saw this in action when an older child hurt my toddler at their house and her dad, angry, punished her with a time-out. As his child sat there in the corner sulking, I was kind of sulking, too. I thought, Wait, I’d like her to come see if […]
Around the house, some women want things done a certain way. You know who you are. Ahem: We know who we are. And when things aren’t done a certain way, we get critical. My husband puts the dishes in the dishwasher (“a mountain of dishes,” he suggests editing that to say), and all I see […]
I remember trying to get the real scoop on parenting, good and bad, before I had a baby. “It’s hard,” new parents would say, and then quickly paper over that tiny admission. “But of course I wouldn’t trade it for anything!” It sounded suspicious to me. Even so, once I had a baby, I followed suit: […]