parenting

practice mindful parenting in March

Practice Mindful Parenting in March Madness

By / 4 minutes of reading

The slower pace of winter is coming to an end. As we head into the month of March, we can feel life get busier with the coming of spring. From longer daylight hours to the discomfort of our “spring ahead” weekend (coming very soon), March brings an increase in parenting chaos. And so, this is a good time to think about the practice of mindful parenting in March. When our lives get busier and schedules change, we parents definitely feel the pressure. So as we move forward into springtime and its increased activity or changes, here are three ways to …

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Help Our Kids Learn to Adapt to Changes

3 Ways to Build Contentment in Our Kids

By / 5 minutes of reading

We live in a world where there is a lot of wanting. Many of our wants are reasonable and fair, like the things we really need. Of course we want our families to be cared for, to have a place to live and food to eat. At the same time, most of us can honestly say that we want a lot more than we need. Again, not automatically a negative thing, but it is a thing that can take us over. And it’s no different for our kids. In fact, learning to regulate their wants is a part of maturing …

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Let’s support each other as parents

Let’s Support Each Other As Parents

By / 4 minutes of reading

Are things a little crazy at your house lately? They are at mine. With all the back to school activity, it can be easy to feel a bit overwhelmed. We’re dealing with early morning chaos and with kids who are beyond exhausted. When you add in extracurricular activities and after-school commitments, our calendars are more than full! As our families adjust to new, busy schedules, we also face the challenge of our own individual stress and irritability. There’s a lot going on! So, in the middle of all the craziness, let’s support each other as parents. There are so many …

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How to Keep Little Ones Busy When You Have to Work

By / 4 minutes of reading

School is looming ahead for most of us, and for many of us it doesn’t look the same as it ever has.  The balance of working from home, leading virtual schooling or a new home school, and tending to younger children is a problem many of us have not faced on such a long-term basis before. How do we work from home, help our school aged kids with their virtual schooling, and tend to little ones who want our attention or want to be part of what’s going on?  This has typically been an issue for traditional home-schoolers, but with …

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Weekly Routines for Summer

Weekly Routines for Summer Fun

By / 5 minutes of reading

We’re on a routine run for this summer!  With the current pandemic restrictions, closures, and cancellations, we all need ideas for making the summer fun for our families.  My own family has settled into lazing around each day, so I’m inspired to implement more structure to our days. One way to do this is to assign an activity to each day of the week.  Some can be fun and some can be practical.  Either way, having a clear “Taco Tuesday” kind of label helps everyone to know what is happening that day.  It gives your kids something to look forward …

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How to Stop Your Child from Whining

By / 3 minutes of reading

Why do children whine? Children typically start whining as they develop verbal language. It’s often the only way toddlers express themselves when they are hungry, tired, uncomfortable or don’t want to do something. While whining is very common in toddlers, but by age 3-4, children should be able to use the same words to express themselves with a less whiny voice. Then by age 6-8, children should be able to break the habit completely. Positive Parenting states kids whine, “Because it works!” (For your kids, that is.) When your kids whine and negotiate, they secure a big chunk of your …

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What Do I Do When My Toddler Is Aggressive?

By / 6 minutes of reading

  It is part of normal development for toddlers and preschoolers to exhibit aggressive behavior. Just like all other aspects of development, there is a wide range when it comes to aggressive behavior. The aggression comes down to a child not being able to regulate their emotions during a particular situation. The aggression may occur because your child is tired or hungry. Others occur because your child has something unexpected happen and they don’t know how to manage their emotions in that situation. These are often referred to as triggers. Evaluating your child before and during the tantrum will help you …

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Setting Goals – Creating Success

By / 2 minutes of reading

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C   Are you setting goals with your kids? This article from the Wall Street Journal tells us that, “Students’ ability to set and achieve realistic goals is linked in research to higher grades, lower college-dropout rates and greater well-being in adulthood.”   Sounds pretty good, right? But just how do you go about beginning to set goals with little ones who have a limited attention span and only an emerging grasp on things like the passage of time and delayed gratification? Here are some tips to get you started:   Start small: What developmental milestone …

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Helping Children Embrace Change: The Arrival of a New Sibling

By / 3 minutes of reading

  By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C There’s nothing as quite earth shaking to a little one as the arrival of a new sibling. Whether accompanied by a great deal of excitement, or a little apprehension and a dose of sibling rivalry, things are going to be changing at home! There’s a lot you can do to help older children prepare for the arrival of a new sibling, and it starts long before baby comes home and goes on long after, too.   BEFORE BABY COMES HOME 1)   Make sure you are the one to tell your child about the pregnancy …

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Who is Colleen Brunetti?

By / 1 minute of reading

Colleen Brunetti is an amazing woman, wife, mother, and more. In April 2010, we first met Colleen when she joined the Signing Time Academy and certified as a Master Instructor. At the same time, she started her business Little Hands, Big Ideas, which entails both sign language and holistic health coaching. In Fall of 2010 Colleen collaborated on the Homeschool Guide and the Down Syndrome Guide. In October of 2011, Colleen became our Potty Time Specialist, writing and overseeing the Potty Time blog as well as the Potty Time Facebook and Twitter accounts. In 2012, Colleen started writing for the …

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