So, you don't want your child to be throwing things they're not supposed to. It might destroy the item, hurt people or make a huge mess. There are mainly 2 reasons why young children throw things: 1. Throwing out of frustration Some children throw when they're angry or frustrated. It's...
What to do when you’ve lost your cool
The other day was a hard day. I lost my cool. I raised my voice. I banged things around. I said mean things. It gives me some comfort to know I'm not the only one who has hard days and loses my cool. But even though it's normal, that doesn't...
The wonder of child-led free play (part 2)
In our previous blog post, we shared 3 important benefits to child-led play and today we’re going over even more! Amazing benefits of child-led free play (part 2) 1. Builds resilience Play isn’t something random that children do. Children play in ways that are meaningful to them. When reaching a...
The wonder of child-led free play (part 1)
Confession time - I used to think free play was a waste of time. I used to work in an international school with an early years program that incorporated free play into the kids daily schedule. I would think to myself "These parents pay so much money for the kids...
Knowing and owning our stories
I was caned as a child. My mother tells me that I wasn't beaten as many times as I seem to recall. In my mind, I was caned frequently for minor infractions like accidentally knocking over a bowl of noodles from the countertop or not finishing a worksheet. She tells...
It’s not an adult’s job to entertain kids
We've been conditioned to think that part of raising kids is to entertain them. To make them happy, to set up activities for them, to entertain them, lest they feel unloved or learn nothing. It's no wonder parents feel guilty when they're unable to engage with their kids the whole...
What do I do when my ‘threenager’ is giving me attitude?
The other day, my three-year old announced, "Make my Milo right NOW!” I had a few options: A - Ignore her until she asked me nicely B - Retort "Eh, you think I'm your maid issit?" C - Acknowledge the feeling behind the rudeness AND hold a boundary around how...
How to acknowledge your child’s feelings
In our previous post about acknowledging feelings, we talked about its many benefits for your children. In this post, we’ll talk about HOW you can acknowledge children’s feelings. Acknowledging feelings is a simple concept, but not necessarily easy to implement. Because of culture or how we were raised, acknowledging the...
When it comes to discipline, timing is everything
What do stand-up comedy and parenting have in common? In both comedy and parenting, timing is everything. We're constantly reminded of different scripts and techniques to try when we need to discipline our child. But in focusing on the WHAT to say, the WHEN to say it is often overlooked....
“NO” is My Toddler’s Favourite Word. Help!
Toddlers around 2 years old often say “NO” all the time. You might be surprised that this is actually very developmentally appropriate and what they SHOULD be doing at this age! Why do toddlers say “NO” all the time? Young toddlers are just learning about autonomy and independence and the...