Tip 101 – Be the most important teacher for your child that you were meant to be… 24/7
Every minute counts, and there is not a moment to waste. As Maria Montessori said, “There is no eraser.”
Little children are still the symbol of the
eternal marriage between love and duty.
—George Eliot: “Poem to Romola,”
It is other people who influence children about how they feel about themselves. Children are the products of the self-fulfilling prophecy ”What we expect from children is what children will expect from themselves.” Constant sincere positive reinforcement helps children feel good about themselves and enables them to function well. Criticism, on the other hand, causes children to feel bad about themselves and hinders their growth and development.
What to do?
Study parent-child interaction. Become a specialist. Know what you are doing and do it well… every step of the way. Parents who gain expertise in parent-child interaction are the ones who usually find it easy to get positive responses from their children. Parents and caregivers guide and support their children. They lead them, and they teach them. They do all this by what they say and do.
Based on sound research in the early 1990’s we now have the “Fifteen Pillars of Parenting.” These are tools for guidance and support. There are four preparations, five attitudes, and six techniques. They all work together to give children a sense of security. The preparations are ongoing all the time. They are designed to guide children toward positive behavior and therefore decrease opportunities for negative behavior. The attitudes are the basics related to understanding behavior. They are also beliefs. The techniques are actions you can take to handle behavior. While these tools are explained on the toddler and preschool level, you can begin using them in a modified way as soon as your baby starts to move around and continue on well into the teenage years. These guidelines are just that good!
The 15 Pillars are about to begin… next Monday!
June! The Month of the Dads
Sit back, relax, and learn what you can. Enjoy the process too. Your child will thank you for it every step of the way.
Enhance Father’s Day for the dad in your family with this new book by Hogan Hilling and Al Watts Dads Behaving Dadly: 67 Truths, Tears and Triumphs of Modern Fatherhood. You will learn much about what successful dads do and how they do it.
~ Dr. Sally
So glad so many dads are stepping forward and taking pride in parenting on a deeper level. Moms, welcome father participation. Your children benefit — and so will you!