Preschoolers – Page 7 – Sarah Ockwell-Smith

How to Help Babies & Children With Clock Changes

There are two events each year that cause many parents stress and upset when it comes to child sleep – clock changes! I’m not going to de-rail this blog with my thoughts on this archaic practice (I’ve detailed them at some length in The Gentle Sleep Book). I will however focus on ways that you canContinue reading “How to Help Babies & Children With Clock Changes”

What Is Gentle Parenting and Why Should You Try It?

Gentle Parents are ‘mind minded’, that is they raise their children in a manner that they are aware and considerate of the child’s feelings. Too many parenting styles consider only the parent’s feelings when resolving problems, yet research shows us that the best way to raise an empathic child, or what many would call “a kind child” is to be empathic towards them.

What are Night Terrors and how can you Help Them?

Night terrors are a parasomnia, an unusual behavioural and physiological phenomenon that occurs during sleep. They effect between 1-6% of children. Unlike nightmares, night terrors happen in a stage of deep sleep called NREM (non-REM), a stage of sleep categorised by the absence of dreams.

How Long Should Babies and Toddlers Sleep For? (Infographic)

The following infographic provides a realistic look at baby, toddler and preschooler sleep. Including average night waking, need for night feeds, sleep regression and average amount and timings of naps.

Why it’s OK to let your baby or child cry (sometimes).

If you follow attachment or gentle parenting principles, you should never willingly let your child cry, right? Wrong. If you follow attachment or gentle parenting principles, you should never willingly make your child cry, right? Wrong. You can very much be an attachment or gentle parent and both allow your child to cry and (shock horror)Continue reading “Why it’s OK to let your baby or child cry (sometimes).”

The Problem With Stickers and Reward Charts

Reward charts are a mainstay of modern parenting, popularised by experts, such as Supernanny Jo Frost. Stickers are commonly used in order to tame toddlers, stop tantrums and encourage kids to eat up their food and tidy their rooms. After all, children love stickers and surely if experts advocate the usage of reward charts theyContinue reading “The Problem With Stickers and Reward Charts”

Why The Testosterone Surge in Young Boys is a Myth (and what really causes their behaviour to change!)

It’s almost guaranteed to pop up on every parenting related discussion forum, website or chat room you visit. “Did you know that young boys, around 3, 4 or 5 have a HUGE surge of testosterone? That’s why their behaviour is so difficult at this age” Seems like a great explanation for the difficult behaviour many parentsContinue reading “Why The Testosterone Surge in Young Boys is a Myth (and what really causes their behaviour to change!)”

What is Gentle Parenting?

What is Gentle Parenting? In my opinion it can be summed up with just four words: 1. Empathy 2. Respect 3. Understanding 4. Boundaries 1. Empathy Parenting with your child’s feelings in mind as much as possible. Using empathy (or what some psychologists call ‘mind-mindedness’) to gain insight into your child’s behaviour and using empathyContinue reading “What is Gentle Parenting?”

When Gentle Parenting Doesn’t Work

It seems like everyday I come across a comment from a parent proclaiming “gentle parenting doesn’t work”, that their baby “still cries all the time” or their toddler “tantrums constantly and still hits his brother” – this despite all of their effort to understand and practice gentle parenting, which can be so much more timeContinue reading “When Gentle Parenting Doesn’t Work”

What is ‘Gentle Parenting’ and how is it different to ‘Mainstream Parenting’?

I use the term ‘gentle parenting’ a lot when I write and a lot of people ask me what exactly I mean by it. “What is gentle parenting?” they say…… Often they confuse the ‘gentle parenting’ terminology with the idea of Attachment Parenting (or AP is it is commonly known), which isn’t strictly true. AlthoughContinue reading “What is ‘Gentle Parenting’ and how is it different to ‘Mainstream Parenting’?”