Have you ever felt like you’re talking and talking, saying the same thing over and over, and just being flat-out ignored? This happened to me recently. My daughter’s shorts got muddy (we were camping), and I’d encouraged her to wash them in the water spigot (an object of immense fascination). As she began, I could tell she needed to […]
“Why Some Kids Try Harder and Some Kids Give Up“: This post on how to give our kids a growth mindset is the most popular piece I’ve written in the past year. I’m guessing that’s not just because we all want to teach our kids how to persevere through challenges. I’m guessing it’s also because we wonder for […]
A photographer mounted a GoPro camera in the stroller behind his son’s head so he could capture “A toddler’s view of New York City.” Cool idea! But the poor kid is often looking through the plastic cover of the stroller. He gets this blurry, diffuse view of the world. The photographs got me thinking about a child’s experience from a […]
I thought it’d be fun to start a year-end tradition of sharing the funny things our kids say. Just in case you need a laugh after the holidays. (If you need more than a laugh, like a bit of a reset, try this simple happiness trick.) The unsigned quotes below are mine. (For a while, I was good […]
A friend of mine sends the best Christmas card. There’s the requisite family photo and the holiday wish. But there’s also a sheet of printer paper, folded in sixths. It’s a list of the memorable conversations they had with their kids that year. I always open it with anticipation, and we always laugh out loud. A couple for you: […]
Growth mindset is in the air. I’m just back from giving a speech to 120 K-8 teachers on growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. A school my daughter attends just sent around an infographic connecting mindset to resiliency. Someone on a parenting-educators forum just posed a question about mindsets and praise. If you’re not familiar with […]
Speak with your baby in a certain way, new research shows, and your baby is far more likely to pick up on language. The difference is big — more than double the vocabulary by age 2. How? Glad you asked, because “how” is what Zero to Five is all about. Three things: Speak in a sing-songy […]
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 want to wear the Mickey Mouse pajamas!” our toddler announced. My husband fished out the top, but the Mickey Mouse bottoms were in hiding. “Look, here are your shark pajamas!” my husband tried, cheerfully. “I want to wear the Mickey Mouse pajamas!” our toddler repeated, whining. “The shark pajamas are from your good friend,” my […]