At the beginning of my parenting journey I unknowingly passed by hundreds of opportunities for me and my kids to develop resilience. In my book Bounceback Parenting I explain that I made the mistake of thinking that my job was to make everything easy or comfortable for my kids. I often offered help [...]Continue Reading
Conversation Starter Jokes for Kids – connecting and laughing
Have you entered the "Knock Knock" phase yet? We are firmly entrenched in it but most of the jokes the kids tell make no sense. One of our favorite things while we're driving lately is making up and telling jokes. The kids LOVE when I will teach them jokes and listen to their jokes. They [...]Continue Reading
The Emotions Bowl – teaching kids about emotions and how to regulate them
My brother was seeking a way to stay close to his kids during a very tumultuous time in his life and he asked the advice of a family counselor. She suggested the emotions bowl - this is a wonderful tool for teaching kids about emotions and helping families grow closer. Since then he and I [...]Continue Reading
What to do when your kid hits another child – How to teach the skill of self-motivated self-regulation (SMSR)
Today's article is about how to handle situations where one kid is hitting another. Author Vivek Patel shares how to handle this situation from a self-motivated, self-regulation standpoint rather than from a a fear-based self-regulation standpoint. How to teach the skill of self-motivated [...]Continue Reading
Winter Books for Toddlers – best books for a snuggle on a snowy day
Winter with a toddler can be exhausting for the mom or dad trying to keep up. One of the best ways to fill a little time on a winter day is to snuggle up with a pile of books. We have a post already about our favorite toddler board books, but here are our top picks for winter books. Most of these [...]Continue Reading
The First Step to Getting Out of Survival Mode – I Had to Let Go of the Fantasy
This post is an excerpt from my book Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection not Perfection. To enjoy my kids I had to come to grips with the fact that parenting would be nothing like I imagined and, in fact, many sweet, memorable moments often happen at the same time as the [...]Continue Reading
