gentle discipline

It’s Not Personal

June 7, 2010

Recently, I was reading a piece in a magazine by a woman whose husband had left her for another woman. She was coping with the betrayal, in part, by repeating the phrase, “There is nothing personal going on here.” It sounds crazy, but realizing that the problem wasn’t her, it was her husband’s own drama, [...]

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Staying Patient

March 3, 2010

Let’s be honest: toddlers and young preschoolers can wear on even the most patient person’s nerves. From the constant questions (“why?” “wat dat?” “where mama go?”) to the wild mood swings and outbursts, life with one to three year old kids can be difficult. But screaming back at your angry two year old is not [...]

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Toddler Ten Commandments

February 11, 2010

My husband, Tom, once remarked that he wished there was some quick and dirty parenting guide. He doesn’t have time to read all of the parenting books after I’m done with them, and he doesn’t particularly like to hear me quote entire passages. Go figure. His wish is (sometimes) my command, so I set out [...]

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The Conscious Parent

February 9, 2010

Positive parenting is hard. Why? Because you must be a conscious parent, always. Constantly. All day long. Every minute of every day. Even in the fuzzy gray of those groggy mornings after a night of restless co-sleeping–even when it’s late in the afternoon following a whirling day of no naps and fussy teething–and yes–even when [...]

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Positive Holiday Discipline

December 24, 2009

Discipline is a hot topic in my house right now.  Since I live in an intentional community and my son is the oldest of the children, it is also something of a fishbowl environment. My now 18-month-old son is testing the limits in all new ways, challenging, finding his boundaries, and seeing how far he [...]

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Redirection as a Discipline Tool…For Parents!

September 14, 2009

The beautiful little girl in these pictures is my niece Victoria. I will never forget the day Victoria’s mom called me and I could hear the panic and anger in her voice. As the story unfolded I could also tell that she called me as a means of protecting her daughter from the anger she [...]

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The Creativity of Children

September 8, 2009

I’m always amazed at the creativity of children … which happens, frequently, in spite of my best efforts. Let me explain. Sometimes I’m just too helpful for everyone’s own good. On those occasions when we have small day-to-day hurdles, my first inclination is to make everything better. Over the years, however, I’ve learned that the [...]

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Impulse Control; How to Gently Encourage Your Child to Develop It!

August 17, 2009

Everybody has heard the adage “When we know better, we do better,” and everybody also knows it’s not always true. We as parents are not perfect. While we know and understand that corporal punishment is wrong, even parents who subscribe to this belief slip into this behaviour sometimes. In life we all make decisions to [...]

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