Category Archive:
Children’s basic needs

Taming the Television Monster

television monster

“All my three- and four-year-old want to do is watch TV. They fuss about having to turn off the TV at dinner and bedtime. They wouldn’t even play with their friends yesterday because their favorite shows were on. I think I’ve let it get out of hand,” lamented Robin. I was impressed to hear Robin […]


Using Positive Statements with Children

using positive statements

“If I tell Ginny not to do something, she just looks me in the eye and does it. She seems defiant,” Sam, Ginny’s dad, told me at a company picnic. Ginny, an almost four-year-old curly-headed brunette, ran over from the swings at the park. “Ginny, how about playing a little game with me? I’m going […]


Making Dinner Time Enjoyable

making dinner time enjoyable

“What’s your most difficult time of day?” I asked Sue and Bob, parents of three children under the age of six. They had requested a conference for advice about table manners. “Dinner time,” Sue answered without hesitation. “Definitely dinner time. It’s crazy. The kids are up and down. They don’t eat what I’ve fixed. It’s […]


What’s Your Child’s Learning Style Preference?

what's your child's learning style

There are four basic ways we take in and process information: Visual involving the eyes, Auditory regarding hearing, Kinesthetic with movement Tactile using touch, taste and smell Each of us has preferences in the way we take in information. Most of us are highly visual, therefore much of our learning and teaching methods are visually […]


What Do You Mean? Turn Off Your Screen?

turn off your tv

A school age child may spend more hours watching television, phone and computer screens this year than going to school.  A CBS News reports that children ages 8 to 18 use an average of 7 hours per day of screen time, or over 2500 hours per year, versus 900 hours of school time per year […]


Teaching Children to Love

teaching children to love

The purpose of the adult of the species, any species, is to ensure the success of the next generation. From bees to bears, from hyenas to humans, every adult’s job is to provide for the young. Someone did it for us. Now it is our turn to give back, ideally giving more than we were […]


Teaching Children to Be Polite

Teaching Children To Be Polite

“True politeness is the spontaneous movement of a good heart and an observing mind. Benevolence will teach us tenderness towards the feelings of others, and habits of observation will enable us to judge promptly and easily what those feelings are.” Lydia Marie Child, The Mother’s Book, published 1831 Until the age of six, we are […]