Guiding your children’s behaviour; In our home we use the ‘time in’ approach for our girls ‘red light behavior’ ie. Hurting each other. We have always felt that a ‘time out’ approach does not validate our daughters’ feelings, it shuns them from their family for experiencing ‘big’ feelings that they are struggling to control and it only teaches them that its ‘not ok’ to be upset.
Earthway Parenting
Attachment Parenting Includes Fathers!
Yes a preference for infants and children are us, their mamas BUT I wanted to talk about how indispensable our partners are.
Lets go back to ‘Attachment Parenting’ this is a style of parenting that has been happening since the dawn of time.
Infancy can be challenging
Imagine for a moment that aliens have abducted you and you are entirely dependent on two of these strangers in a strange world with a strange language. You are completely dependent on them for all of your needs, hunger, thirst, and comfort.
Discipline is not a dirty word.
Discipline – one word that makes most gentle parents cringe. Discipline is not a dirty word. In fact the very definition of discipline in the old English language referred to a branch of knowledge and in Latin “Disciplina” means to teach.
The ‘Hood’ that is a spiritual journey
Motherhood- A ‘hood’ that many of us may see as a spiritual journey. One that challenges us & reminds us of our daily practice… practice that can be rigorous & at times exhausting. Our infants and our children are our teachers repeatedly forcing us to live in the present moments..
Anxiety in children
Anxiety is part of our survival instinct. When faced with a threatening situation, our brains and bodies respond by kicking into safety mode. Our adrenalin starts pumping, which helps us get ready to escape the danger.
Fearful and anxious behaviour can be common in children – especially as they come across a new situation and/or experience. Most children will learn to cope with their different fears and worries.
However, they may need a little extra support when:
Using Genuine Praise
We made a concious decision as parents to try our best to not put our children in a ‘box,’ starting with “artificial praise” such as ‘good girl! You’ve put all of your toys away!’ We truly believed that by doing so we would be (unintentionally) creating a high standard for our children to be ‘good’ all of the time which then inevitably leads to ‘perfectionism’ & frustration.
Parenting mindfully
“With mindfulness we are more aware of who are children are and we are more able to free them from any pressures to fulfil unrealistic expectations” – Sarah Napthali- Buddhism for mothers –
Strong roots produce beautiful leaves
“in the Western world we focus far too much on achievement. Parenting is not about achieving and it is not about ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Instead we can think of parenting as an almost endless series of opportunities to shift our thinking & our behavior to bring about a change in our operating paradigm; our way of viewing the world.” – Dr Bob Jacobs, author of ‘Perfect Parents, Perfect Children’
Sleepless nights & Sleep deprivation
Human infants are the mist dependent of all creatures and for the longest amount of time. We would not have survived as a species if cave mothers had out their offspring in another part of the cave at night or left them for long periods of time during the day. WE may have the means to separate ourselves from out young, but biologically, we weren’t meant to and it still upsets the baby and the mother – Alice Bolster –