All throughout a child’s school and teen years, attachment parenting beliefs and philosophies help build the important parent-child connection through empathetic listening, support, mutually-set rules, loving discipline, child-led independence, quantity of focused and unfocused time together and most of all, mutual respect. Over 50 years of research shows that children who have their security and dependence needs fulfilled and supported early and consistently grow into emotionally healthy and independent adults.
Nobody likes a tattletale - not even their mother or father. If your child’s playdates and sleepovers are punctuated by whiney reports of misdeeds and injustice, you may be tempted to clear your kid’s social calendar. Not so fast. Interactions with siblings and friends allow kids to practice communication, negotiation and compromise. And dissatisfaction is part of the process.
We all have moods. In childhood, there are those unicorn, rainbow, cotton candy, smiley ones. And then there are the beastly ones. Meltdown mahem at a department store. Bedtime blow-ups. Tantrums over tuna. Adolescents are also famous for occasionally getting their panties in a bunch... ahem. Behind every spirited child in distress is a parent secretly wishing to be sedated.
Calgary’s Child Magazine © 2023 Calgary’s Child
