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How to Raise Bright Children

by Dr. Tali Shenfield.
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

How to Raise Bright ChildrenWatching a child learn and grow is truly a pleasure. Each day, parents are delighted as their child discovers new experiences, develops new skills, and comes to understand more about the world around her.

During these precious early years, parents wish to do everything in their power to enhance their child’s learning and give her all she needs to be successful, both personally and academically.

Fortunately, there is good news for hopeful parents: intelligence is more malleable and dynamic than was previously thought, meaning that there’s a great deal parents can do to encourage their children to excel intellectually. Understanding the mind of your child, with all of its unique aptitudes, can unlock potential far beyond that which can be measured by IQ tests.

[Read more…]

How to Parent a Strong-Willed Child

by Emily Learing.
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Strong Willed Child - main image You were hoping to get through this simple errand without any misbehavior from your strong-willed child, but—as usual—here you are again, in a public situation with a child who isn’t quite meeting your expectations for public behavior.

Now what?

From your experience, every time you try to correct your child’s behavior, it turns into an epic power struggle and you tend to find yourself on the losing end most of the time. And that’s the last thing you want right now, with all of these judgmental onlookers watching your every move.

When faced with the unique challenge of raising a strong-willed child, you may find yourself wondering what on earth you can even say to your child to help achieve your goal of improving that behavior, without turning the conversation into a seemingly never-ending battle of wills, with no real solution in sight.

You may frequently wonder: Why does a simple request such as, “Please stop that,” have to turn into such a battle? Can’t he just do what I’ve asked of him, like a child is supposed to do?

[Read more…]

20 Awesome Children’s Books About Resilience (Sorted by Age)

by Jennifer Garry.
(This article is part of the Gift Guides, Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Books on Resilience Main ImageWhen my daughter stepped off the bus, I could immediately tell by the pout of her lips and the little wrinkle between her eyebrows that something was wrong.

She walked to the front door looking defeated.

After a big hug and a little stroking of her hair, she was ready to launch into the epic tale of a fight with her friend. Her story was rife with drama, lies, and a heartbreak-fueled vow to never speak to the girl again.

I listened as she told her story and watched as she tried not to cry. My momma heart ached for her.

The fixer in me wanted to march right to my phone and call up the other girl’s mother to hash it all out. To explain the misunderstandings and put a Band-Aid on the emotional booboo.

But what purpose would that serve (except, of course, for making me feel better and temporarily soothing her pain)?

My daughters need to learn how to get back up when they’re knocked down—and they need to learn how to do it themselves.

As parents, we don’t want our babies to suffer heartbreak or disappointment. We just want them to be happy. But life is full of frustration and failures. That’s how we learn. And if we don’t allow our children to bounce back on their own, we’re doing them a grave disservice.

In a discussion on letting kids fail, Dr. Stephanie O’Leary, a clinical psychologist specializing in neuropsychology and the author of Parenting in the Real World, said that parents need to “Remember that one of the hardest but most important parts of parenting is to tolerate your child’s temporary discomfort knowing that it’s the only way to build the coping skills necessary to succeed in the real world where no one will be running interference for your child.”

This is not easy. In fact, it can be heartbreaking. But it’s necessary.

Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD, expressed a similar sentiment in an article for Psychology Today: “When we help young people cultivate an approach to life that views obstacles as a critical part of success, we help them develop resilience.”

So how do we do that? How do we, as parents, help our children develop resilience?

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Well, aside from stepping away and allowing them to bounce back from disappointment and failure on their own, we can model positive behavior. We can allow our children to get a glimpse of our own failures and struggles (to a degree) and show them an appropriate way to respond.

We can also expose them to as many stories of resilience as possible, showing them how different people respond to less than ideal circumstances and how they bounce back and ultimately triumph.

One of my favorite ways to do this is through books. I turn to books often, whether to show my daughters examples of strong female characters or to give them a few moments of escape when they seem stressed out.

I collected some of my favorite books that teach kids about resilience to share with you here. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a great place to start.

[Read more…]

The Magic Word That Every Parent Needs to Embrace

by Mindy Carlson.
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

power-of-yet-main-imageIt was the beginning of the school year and my son was learning Algebra. It was not going well.

“Mom, I’m just no good at this!”

“Sure you are, honey. You just need to try harder.”

“But I’m never going to get it!”

We’ve all been right here. Our child is frustrated with homework and we want to help. Don’t you just wish you could say a magic word and make it better?

What if I told you there actually is a magic word?

Really. There is a magic word that is going to save us from disaster.

A small word.

Tiny.

In fact, it’s only 3 letters.

YET.

An adverb meaning: Up until the present or a specified or implied time.

YET. Such simple word, but oh-so magical. The power and magic of YET lies in the core of its’ meaning: Up until now. My son might not understand Algebra, but he will! He just hasn’t understood it up until now.

[Read more…]

How to Build Confidence in Kids After a Devastating Setback

by Devishobha Chandramouli.
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

how to build confidence in kids - main imageIt is hard to keep your confidence and self-esteem intact after suffering a major setback yourself.

But there is something harder—watching your child go through those soul-shattering feelings and feeling your own heart crumble to bits within your body.

We have all likely seen these things happen.

Seen our child locked up in a room because “everyone hates her!”

Or caught our child saying, “I so suck at this, what’s the point of even trying?”

Or seen them being insulted for just being themselves, and watch them go through stages of grief—confusion, denial, anger—and then the thing that no parent will want to see—acceptance.

Our older daughter had always had skin flare-ups due to eczema, mildly as a baby and more strongly as a toddler. However, at the age of seven, she suffered a sudden and extreme flare-up. Her skin became so flaky and patchy, it began to peel off in places.

We hopped from doctor to doctor hoping for a remedy, but this time it had come back with a vengeance. The restrictions on her diet kept piling up, her medicine dosage kept increasing—only to see her weakening.

Her sleep was fitful, her diet scattered. Her activity had already become restricted because of photo-sensitivity. She had to wear clothes that covered her rashes from exposure to the dust and sun. She had to be always slathered in layers and layers of creams and oils to soothe her skin, even if they could soothe her only a little.

Obviously, she went through tremendous physical distress. Yet, I was scared of something even more monstrous than this physical manifestation. I was terrified of her letting it become her identity, of letting it break her confidence, of letting it limit her mentally.

And then, one evening—my fear came true.

India still allows children to go out of their homes and play by themselves. One evening, she came home and said quietly, “N’s mother has forbidden her from playing with me because I have rashes.”

I waited in silence. I didn’t comfort her immediately—too scared that she might sense that I already expected it because it came too soon. She sat down, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and chest heaving in anger.

And then, she bawled. Amidst the torrent of tears and snot, I heard what I feared the most: “Why me?”

Perhaps that was the moment she had begun to deeply identify with her setback.

Gradually, I noticed that she was reluctant to meet people. I would find her instinctively covering the back of her palms if someone even seemed to be coming closer. She would attempt to hide behind me at the supermarket.

She would examine herself in front of the mirror for long periods of time. She would kiss me repeatedly and ask to be kissed back. She refused to even see doctors.

My husband and I were already stressed with taking care of the physical hardship she was going through. We took turns at night to watch her—else she would scratch herself bloody within seconds.

Yet, we knew that it was absolutely crucial to smooth out those psychological knots that were forming in her. We decided to work on them very intentionally—one step at a time.

[Read more…]

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Fair Warning: While none of this is professional advice, it is powerful stuff and could potentially change your life!
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