Many parents who criticize their children have good intentions. They often hope that by pointing out their child’s errors, they can help her (or him) overcome problem behaviours, learn the skills she needs to succeed socially and academically, and develop a strong sense of personal accountability. They intend, at base, to guide their child. Unfortunately, parents don’t always ...
Having a child show deep attachment can be a moving experience. It propels parents to model good behaviour, maintain their child’s trust, and generally be the best people they can be… But at the same time, many parents worry that this level of attachment may not be healthy for their child. In today’s culture, there’s an enduring ...
Angry meltdowns and childhood go hand in hand. Kids’ natural impulsivity and lack of perspective make them prone to lashing out over apparently minor issues—particularly during early childhood. Being denied something they want, being criticized even in a constructive way, or being teased can all spark disproportionately intense fits of rage. For parents, it can be difficult to know ...
The ability to communicate well and learn verbally is strongly emphasized both at home and at school. However, useful though verbal skills are, there’s another extremely important area of learning that many experts feel we’re neglecting: Spatial skills. The term “spatial skills” is used to describe the ability to accurately interpret and remember the spatial relations between objects. ...
Every child differs in his/her developmental capacity and pace. Some children learn to speak earlier than others. Some learn ...
For the parents of overweight children, every day is a balancing act; on one hand, there is the natural desire ...
With climate change becoming an increasingly common theme in politics, news, and even entertainment, it’s no wonder more young ...
Discussions about returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic often revolve around helping children (and their families) stay physically healthy while participating in classroom learning. For many kids, however, the mental health implications of going back to school are equally challenging. Though some children eagerly anticipate seeing their friends again, others are experiencing profound anxiety about how their lives will ...
Modern parenting methods typically revolve around a rigid system of enforcing accountability: If a child behaves well, he (or she) is rewarded. If a child behaves badly, he is punished. In theory, this approach is logical enough; we expect our children to learn that their actions have consequences. Furthermore, we expect this knowledge to help them form a natural aversion ...
Almost all children go through a period of being afraid of the dark. This may manifest as a simple fear of darkness itself or as a fear of monsters or intruders who only come out at night. What’s more, these fears often last longer than parents realize; according to a study conducted in Australia, 64% of preteens and teens (those ...
One of the biggest myths about children is the idea that they lack empathy by nature. In reality, though children can be self-focused and lack knowledge and perspective, they’re hard-wired to feel empathy for others. How much this quality develops, however, is largely dependent on how a child is raised. Empathy is, after all, part instinct and part learned ...
