Category Archive:
Children’s basic needs

TV Or Not TV, Is That The Question?

tv or not tv is that the question

All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone. Blaise Pascal (1623 -1662) “I can tell you exactly the year that my students changed,” my college professor told our class in the 1970’s. “I’d ask a question and nobody made any attempt to answer it. They thought they were […]


See It In Your Child Video: Meeting The Goal Of Protection

Meeting The Goal Of Protection

In previous sessions we talked about the child’s need to belong, and how a child’s behavior is directed towards getting this emotional connection of belonging. We’ve talked about how a child’s behavior is driven by four unconscious goals: contact, power, protection and withdrawal. Let’s look now at how we can help our children in meeting […]


Shoe Leather Is Cheap

shoe leather is cheap

How can we establish a habit of fitness for our children and ourselves? May I recommend a step at a time? Hugh Gailey from Stevenson, Washington walked 100 miles per week at ninety-four years young. Mr. Gailey said, “shoe leather is cheaper than medicine and doctor’s bills. Walking is the best exercise for any age.” […]


Help with Stuttering

children seek to create a flow of activity

“Kate has started to stutter. What should I do? How can I help her?” Doug, father to three-year-old Kate, asked. As we develop spoken language, stuttering is a symptom of expressive skills lagging behind receptive language skills. If we think about receptive language being our reservoir of words and understanding, and expressive language as the […]


See It In Your Child Video: Meeting The Goal Of Power

meeting the goal of power

How can we help our children enlarge their circle of power? In this video and accompanying article I’ll discuss three vital steps that help us as parents and teacher.  When we use these three steps we’ll find that our children’s unconscious goal of power is met in a way that meets our children need to […]


Allowing Opportunities For Movement

allowing opportunities for movement

A kid’s got to move.  Observing a few minutes at a playground will attest to that.  You don’t see children sitting around if they have the chance to run, jump, climb, or skip.  Children are in a sensitive period of development for movement from birth to about age five-and-a-half. Around age four-and-a-half, children have a […]


Some Alternatives to Saying “No”

alternatives to saying no

There are some days in February that seem as if all we do as parents is say “no”. “No, Susan can’t spend the night. Your brother has the flu.” “No, you cannot go bike riding right now. It’s dark.” “No, we can’t go to the mall. It’s supposed to start snowing soon.” Bad weather, illnesses, […]


Sensitive Periods: Language Development Is Critical

Sensitive Periods Language

From birth to six, children are in a critical period of language development, when the spoken word develops naturally.  Ninety percent of our adult conversational language is in place by the age of six.  If a child does not speak by age six, it is improbable that the child will acquire spoken, written or sign […]


Breaking Away

breaking away

“The finest inheritance you can give a child is to allow it to make its own way, completely on its own two feet.”   Isadora Duncan “Don’t kiss me or hug me in public, Mom,” your child says as he or she wipes off your kiss. Affection that was freely given and accepted becomes an embarrassment […]


See It In Your Child Video: Meeting The Goal Of Contact

Meeting the goal of contact

How can we encourage our children’s cooperation? In this video and accompanying article I’ll show you an effective communication tool to help you gain a child’s cooperation. This may be one of the best tips you’ll ever get!   This is the second in a five-part series on the child’s need to belong. Download the accompanying […]