Children's fears: strategies for understanding and overcoming them
Talk to your child about their fears and listen without judgement. Try to understand exactly what scares them and how they feel. This approach helps a child feel understood and less alone in their fears.
A Journey Into My Own Head
I recently saw a post on social media. A picture of children cycling in the countryside with the caption “Nobody's fondest childhood memory is a series or a film!” I felt awful about the criticism aimed at parents who let their children have more television and mobile phones than reading.
Mum – myth or real person?
I'd love my sons to see me beyond the role of the mum who's there to cook, worry and help. What I love most is when they tell me they've seen something they think I'd like, when they ask to talk about life outside the home, when they want to know exactly what I do and who my favourite person at work is.
Empathy
Empathy is knowing how to understand someone else. English has a good expression for it: “walking in someone else's shoes.” I once actually gave it a go and put on my grandad's shoes out of curiosity. And it was strange. They were enormous, they gave me strength, but also responsibility.
Building a strong bond between parents and children
Around the time of my first labour, people started talking more intensely about first contact with the baby. How that moment is crucial for creating a lasting bond, and that we should ask the doctors to give us the baby after birth so we can hold them skin to skin.
Storytelling
Waiting for his friend was taking ages. My nine-year-old broke the silence:...
Your generation and parenting style: how the past shapes the present
Every generation carries with it unique values, beliefs and lifestyles that are passed on to parenting too. The influence of the generation we belong to on the way we bring up our children is undeniable, and the differences between generations can significantly shape parenting style and, consequently, a child's development.
How stories shape children's hearts
Every evening, before bed, I would tell my daughter stories. Often she was the main character. With every character and every adventure, I watched her eyes light up with excitement and curiosity.
Building social intelligence in children: the key to a successful future
Social intelligence is a distinct type of intelligence, made up of several interconnected abilities such as emotional sensitivity, social perceptiveness, good self-control, sociability, tolerance and social adaptability.