he’s doing it for the attention

Many years ago I worked in the disability field. One day I was asked to go to a group home where I had not worked before. It was a busy morning shift , getting the five residents up and ready for their day placements. One of the young men in the home had cerebral palsy. […]

fear versus love

There are two base emotions – fear and love (Dr Bryan Post). How do fear and love play out in our parenting? “How do your words fall on your child’s heart?” Lisa Nichols. Fear-based parenting views the child as “bad”. Love-based parenting views the child as worthy of our love, time, and attention. Fear-based parenting […]

spending time

We’ve all heard the argument over spending quality versus quantity time with kids. I was reminded this week of the difference between “doing with” and “being with” by my youngest son. I had done a lot with him this particular evening but we hadn’t had any time together where we were just sitting and being. […]

the unveiling of so much sound

A poem by Samantha Reynolds from http://bentlily.com/, where you can catch a poem a day or browse the archives for lots of treasures like this one…   I’d been told that having a child would ignite my eyes   pack wonder back into the humdrum of a spoon the seductive arch of its spine the tiny […]

some reflections on belonging & connection

Expectations of children is one of the biggest areas of discussion, or should I say contention, in the parenting education groups that I facilitate. When a mum complains about her two-year old wanting to sit on her lap at dinner time, after spending all day in childcare, I ask “what are your child’s needs?” She’s so busy […]

bubble trouble

When I came across the poem Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy a few years ago, I thought it would make a lovely picture book. And now it is. I wasn’t sure whether the children at playgroup would be able to sit through a reading of the whole book. Twenty-two pages of dense, tongue-twisting text. I […]

the stone baby

Some picture storybooks just don’t seem to be for young children. This is one of those. It’s beautiful and deep. It relies on a few carefully chosen words and intricate illustrations to convey the story. I think it is a masterpiece. It is the story of a six year-old girl who is overwhelmed by all she […]

a voice of reason

As a family we loved watching The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. That is until some wise person somewhere decided to take it off the telly. Two funny, smart American men critically analysing American media and culture. The interviews that they conduct are humourous but respectful. We Aussies love to see Americans anyone poking […]

into the wild

I happened upon the movie “Into the Wild” whilst flicking around the channels. It was on late, hidden amongst the flotsam and jetsam of television programming. The description said it was directed by Sean Penn, and as he appears to be a complex character, I thought the movie may be interesting, and recorded it. It sat on […]

calming kids

Image from Microsoft clip art. The next two strategies are from the Second Step programme. In the programme, children are told that they should do some deep breathing in situations where they find they are having strong feelings, such as being overexcited, angry, or upset. We tell kids that it’s ok to have strong feelings, but doing the […]