Search Results for: blog letting your kids control their free time

What is “Lazy Parenting” ?

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There are a variety of parenting styles to choose from. Most people pick the one that their own parents used, or they select a style that they feel best fits their family. “Lazy parenting” is an option. It may sounds neglectful – or even dangerous – if you are unfamiliar with how it works. Oddly enough, so called “Lazy Parenting” may actually be more intensive, and difficult, than other parenting styles. No one wants to be called “lazy”. The word has a very negative connotation! One might assume that “lazy parenting” is a style selected by slacker parents who don’t … Continue reading →

5 Tips for Staying Safe this Summer

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Summer vacation is in full force. The kids are out of school and many families spend time outdoors enjoying themselves. While you and your family are out and about, make sure you are following these summer safety tips. Summer Safety Tips Prevent Playground Injuries The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that emergency departments in the United States treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related injuries. Check to make sure the surfaces under the playground equipment are safe, soft, and well-maintained. Before letting your child run and play, take a minute to make sure the … Continue reading →

Rethinking the “Rules” of Parenting

Are you a staunch advocate of the “five-second rule?” Do you teach your kids that it is a no-no to double dip? In a previous blog I discussed the merits of letting things slide in an attempt to preserve one’s sanity as a parent. What I failed to mention is that sometimes when we tweak the rules we do our children a disservice. Case in point: The “five-second rule,” as it applies to food dropped on the floor. As a young mother I was a fervent follower of the “five-second rule.” I would never dream of allowing my precious baby … Continue reading →

Take a Break and Pretend you’re Not a Parent (for an Hour or Two)

How about a game of pretend? This time, instead of playing make believe with your child or children, how about playing make believe with yourself? I am not talking about walking away from all of your parental duties and obligations here, but just spending an hour or two pretending that you are NOT a responsible parent—try not to think about, talk about, and focus on parenting and your child for just one or two hours… It may sound like crazy talk, but it really isn’t. We all need a break and then we can come back to our busy lives … Continue reading →

Who Cleans a Child’s Room?

So many details and realities of family life are up for debate—constant debate. Who cleans a child’s room is one of those controversial topics which, if you got ten different parents in a room together, you would likely have ten different opinions (or at least three or four different camps of opinions.) So, how does it work in your household? Some families let children have complete domain over their own rooms. This means that Mom and Dad just shut the door and leave the child to keep it clean—or not—depending on his or her own personal taste and style. In … Continue reading →

Drawing Lessons From a Bear – David McPhail

In this delightful children’s picture book, which I gather is slightly autobiographical, David McPhail talks to us in the persona of a bear who has learned how to draw. He didn’t always know how, though – that came slowly. It really all began when Bear was having his lessons in how to be a bear. His mother was very anxious for him to learn how to do all the things a bear should do. She taught him how to walk like a bear, how to sit like a bear, how to choose which berries were safe to eat, and how … Continue reading →

When Are Kids Old Enough To Choose Haircuts?

Next to clothes and clothing styles, I think hair is the second biggest independence battle that parents and children can get locked in. While there are a few kids who do not really seem to care what their hair looks like, for most children, having some say and control over their hair becomes an evolutionary step toward independence. BUT, how old should children be when they are allowed to decide their own haircuts and hair dos? I do not suppose there is an exact answer to this. I wish I could say that I was an extraordinarily liberal parent and … Continue reading →

Children Don’t Need Lessons for Everything

We live in an era when structured activities for children seem to take priority over anything else—sports, camps, day care, dance, and all sorts of other extracurricular activities. Parents might feel that if a child expresses a talent or interest in something, the parent is obligated to go out and find a teacher and enroll the child in lessons in order to nurture that interest or talent. But, I’d like to propose a radical idea—maybe children do not need lessons for everything… I must admit that there have been times in my children’s growing-up years, when I think that lessons … Continue reading →

Why Every Child Should Have a Stage

Now, I am not talking about having your own personal theatre and raised wooden stage here. I do not think that is feasible for every family—BUT, I do think that even shy children are naturally drawn to the mysterious promises that a stage offers and having a place for some imaginative and dramatic play can be not only a good thing, but also a downright necessity. When my children were much smaller, we lived in a house with “sunken” family room. The family room had been added to the back of the house and it had a large carpeted step … Continue reading →

Keeping Up With Changing Interests

If life is all about adjusting to change, then family life is an intense, crash-course in constant change and upheaval. Just when we think we know our child and we can describe him or her to others as the “child who…” everything changes. As parents, it can feel like a losing battle trying to keep up with those ever-evolving and constantly changing interests. If I had a dollar for each time I’ve heard “I’m just not into that any more” from one of my kids during these teenage years, I probably wouldn’t have to be so frugal and concerned about … Continue reading →