It’s no secret that kids need encouragement to thrive. But what exactly does encouragement sound like? It’s different than praise or admiration or guidance. It is common to want to give evaluative feedback to kids for their work (“Good coloring!”) or to tell them what we like about their accomplishments (“I like how you set the table”) or what we expect of their behavior (“You need to try your best at school today”). Though these kinds of responses are well meaning, they teach kids to rely on our evaluations rather than to learn to form their own judgments about behavior.
Ah, spring - green shoots, swelling streams and family schedules bulging with soccer, T-ball and end-of-year field trips! It’s enough to make an introverted mom wish for winter’s return!
In today’s world, it’s easy for parents to feel competitive and to think they need to parent their children the way “everybody’s doing it,” says family therapist and educator Michael Gurian, author of Nurture The Nature: Understanding and Supporting Your Child’s Unique Core Personality (Jossey-Bass). But it’s important to understand your child as an individual and to set healthy limits that work for your family, he says. We asked Gurian’s advice on some of today’s common parenting challenges.
Bullying continues to haunt children throughout our country’s communities and schools. But what do you do if you find out your child is a bully?
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