• Always take your child’s temperament and developmental level into account. Use simple language for younger children, and consider whether your expectations are reasonable for your child’s age and stage. • Make your limits clear, firm, and consistent. Then your child will know what to expect. • Stay calm. Speak and act calmly, even if […]
Loving your child means having to set limits. You can’t let a two-year-old rule your house. You may cringe at the idea because you don’t like struggling with your child, but clear rules help your child feel safe and learn self-regulation. Your child’s ability to say no, control his impulses, and delay gratification will have […]
It’s About Teaching, Not Punishing “Call them rules or call them limits, good ones, I believe, have this in common: they serve reasonable purposes; they are practical and within a child’s capability; they are consistent; and they are an expression of loving concern.” – FRED ROGERS (MR. ROGERS)
Gunderson, E. A., Gripshover, S. J., Romero, C., Dweck, C. S., Goldin-Meadow, S., & Levine, S. C. (2013). Parent praiseto 1- to 3-year-olds predicts children’s motivational frameworks 5 years later. Child development, 84, 1526-1541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12064 Levine, M. (2006). The price of privilege: How parental pressure and material advantage are creating a generation of disconnected and […]
• Three-year-old Amy just started swim lessons. While other children leap into the water, she has been cautious, often remaining on the pool steps, and is just starting to kick and move in the water. On the way home, her parent acknowledges Amy’s effort by saying, “You are trying so hard to get comfortable in […]
When your child is praised for her efforts, she will keep trying new things and working hard to achieve her goals. • Praise your child in a realistic and loving manner. • Praise is most effective when it is very specific and focused on effort, perseverance, and practice. • Focusing on effort and improvement allows […]
Of course, you want your child to feel good and succeed. However, you may not realize that over-praising can undermine the power of praise and strip it of its meaning. It can also turn your child into a “praise junkie,” relying on you or others for approval. Too much praise may even lead her to […]
As in almost every facet of parenting, there is considerable debate over how and when you should praise your child. An increasing body of research is showing that praise is most effective when it is: • specific. • authentic. • directed at something your child can control, like her effort and improvement. Praise is less […]
How to Give Empowering Encouragement “A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.” – WILLIAM SAROYAN
Eisenberg, N. (2000). Empathy and sympathy. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed.) (pp. 677-691). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. New York, NY: Bantam Dell. Hoffman, M. L. (2001). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. […]
