A parent in my class introduced me to the term under effort. Right now is always a good time to strive for good enough, that is, consciously doing a little less than you think you ought to. When lots of great, albeit unbidden, ideas come your way, it can feel like a relief to know…
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Children don’t “watch where they’re going,” and they rarely “look out.” Spend some time observing them. Their feet know what to do while their attention is elsewhere. Observe yourself as well. Isn’t this the same for adults? We aren’t very good at looking out.
How quickly and easily our little children learn when we offer an example to imitate, and how much harder for them when we try to explain. For children, it’s most likely that they will do as I do and not what I say. That’s why Simon Says trips young children up so much!
Sharing is a tricky little beast with children from birth to three. It happens to be a very mature capacity that adults struggle with! Adults actually don’t share the way we ask children to. Sharing is hard for a child to understand when it’s not available that often in their life for imitation. As much…
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We often do things for our little children that they are capable of doing themselves – things such as climbing or rolling over or crawling or walking or getting up on things. We often try to help them or do it for them. But they are safest and most embodied when they are allowed to…
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We often refuse to do things for our children that they need help with. Sometimes we ask children to do things before they are ready, or we expect them to understand what we mean when, in fact, they don’t understand. Patience with the child’s pace and offering help is the kindest thing to do. Take…
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Potty training is so individual. My approach is that using the toilet is such an intimate part of a person’s life (like getting a diaper changed), that I handle it with the deepest respect. I try to make the child comfortable. Like diapering, nothing you do should feel distressful. Keep it light-hearted and joyful. Make…
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Parenting young children: a conversation with Kimberley Lewis and Katherine Winter-Sellery.
May Day is one of four Gaelic Festivals that quarter the journey of the earth around the sun. Each of these four lie halfway between the four other great cosmic days: Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox. I’m particularly fond of these in between festivals. Beltane, on May 1, lies halfway between the…
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Whether we know it or not, whether we are conscious of it or not, all of us carry within us an image of the very young child. This image translates into ideas about what babies are, what they are capable of and how we ought to treat them. We don’t question our image of the…
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