How Does Your Child’s Mind Work at Ages 3 and 5?
Learning How a Child’s Mind Works Helps Parents Understand Them The way a child’s mind works involves understanding their thoughts, feelings, intentions, and imaginings. A child’s mind works differently at different stages of development. This affects their capacity to understand other’s points of view and develop moral and social reasoning, as well as, empathy How…
Read More“Bad Behavior” in Good Kids. How Come?
Why “Bad Behavior” From Kids Who Know What Parents’ Expect? The phrase, “bad behavior” worries me because behavior is complex and has meaning. Children aren’t bad; they’re complicated. So, if a child speaks or acts in a negative way, he or she is not a bad child, but a distressed child. Finding Meaning in…
Read MoreParents Help Teens and Children with OCD -The Key to Early Intervention
Why Do Teens and Children With OCD Have This Kind of Expression of Anxiety? Teens and children with OCD bear a high level of anxiety that is due to genetics, internal, and external stressors. Parents help teens and children with responsive listening, lowering stress in the household, and nurturing involvement. Early intervention for kids with…
Read MoreFAVORITE FAMILY VACATION RECIPE: STAYING HOME
Welcome to the July 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Vacation This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their family-travel tips, challenges, and delights. Please read to the end to find a list of links…
Read MoreWhen Resilient Kids Become Anxious Kids
Real Parents Have Resilience I often hear adults remark about their resilient kids when stressors mount. That’s always troubled me because depending on kids’ resilience when they are under stress can strain their cognitive and emotional strength and development. Resilient kids can become anxious kids. Premature Development If the pressures in their lives…
Read More“STAY-AT-HOME” AND “WORKING MOTHERS” UNITE
OUT DATED CONTROVERSY BETWEEN STAY-HOME MOTHERS” AND “WORKING MOTHERS” I’ve noticed lately that there still seems to be a controversy between what are referred to as “Stay-at- Home Mothers” and“Working Mothers.” Since all mothers work at child care, it is a very outdated conflict that needs to be removed from the annals of Motherhood literature…
Read MoreTHE ANXIOUS MOTHERS CLUB
ANXIOUS MOTHERS FIND ANXIETY EXPRESSES ITSELF IN MANY WAYS Anxious mothers are devoted to their children but their anxiety makes it difficult to provide the care they want to give. Anxiety can range from unsettling to overwhelming: general all-day-long nervousness, periodic panic attacks, fears, preoccupations, worries, chest pain, butterflies in your stomach, rapid breathing,…
Read MoreHOW PETS CONNECT WITH EMOTIONS: KIDS & PETS AFTER 9-11
Welcome to the June 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Kids and Animals This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared stories and wisdom about kids and pets. Pets Lower Stress Levels in Children During the highly…
Read More“THEORY OF MIND” IN AUTISM
“THEORY OF MIND” In previous posts, I discussed how the mind works in young children. I explored “The Theory of Mind” which means how we infer mental states such as beliefs, desires, intentions, imagination and emotions that cause behavior or actions. It means that children and adults can reflect on what is going on in…
Read MorePRESCHOOLERS’ POINTS OF VIEW & DECEPTIONS
UNDERSTANDING FOUR-YEAR-OLDS There is a big shift in three- to four-years-olds in their ability to understand beliefs that are different from their own. As we have seen in previous posts, during their third year, children develop a strong sense of themselves. The word “I” is central in their vocabulary. But they still believe that everyone…
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