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This is learning. This is entertainment. . Parents often feel obliged to ‘continue the learning’ (and avoid ‘the learning gap’) over the summer holidays. Parents also feel obliged to entertain their children, with planned activities and days out....they don’t need to do either. . Just because they have six weeks out of a classroom, it doesn’t mean kids stop learning, in fact they can learn WAY more about the world and how it (and they) work by ‘just’ playing. They don’t need printed maths problem worksheets, spelling practice or Biff, Chip and Kipper to learn. If we think that’s what learning is, then we’re more messed up than ever. . Kids don’t need endless planned activities or expensive days out for entertainment. Boredom is *wonderful* for them. It makes them use their imagination (that so often they don’t get chance to use at school). It interests them in nature, it inspires play. . . This summer holiday, scrap the ‘continued learning’ and resist the urge to fill every day. Let them be bored, let them play, let them be children in a world that is increasingly forcing them to lose sense of what childhood really should be. . . . #summerholidays #schoolholidays #schoolsoutforsummer #summerholidayactivities #summerholidayfun #sarahockwellsmith #gentleparenting #unschooling #homeschooling #freerangelearning #schooloflife #childhoodunplugged #natureplay #consciousparenting #mindfulparenting #indefenceofboredomWhen we tell children “you can have some chocolate/ice cream/cake IF you eat up all your dinner”, what we’re actually doing is encouraging them to overeat and making sweet food seem like a treat, which also encourages the child to over-indulge in them when they finally get to eat them. . . . #gentleeating #gentleeatingbook #instinctiveeating #intuitiveeating #intuitiveeatingjourney #intuitiveeater #toddlereats #toddlereating #familyfood #weaning #babyledweaning #gentleparenting #mindfulparenting #mindfuleating #mindfuleats #attachmentparenting #instinctiveparenting #peacefulparentingIs it a box? Or is it an earthquake personal protection device? A time-travel pod? A portable camping bedroom? . If you have a child aged 7-14, with a vivid imagination and a desire to change the world for the better. A child who is a natural inventor, a STEM superstar or an engineer, then you should absolutely check out the Young Imagineers competition. . In collaboration with The Science Museum, and sponsored by Equinor, the competition is a nationwide search to find Britain's most imaginative and creative young people. Children aged 7-14 are being tasked with coming up with an invention to make tomorrow's world a better place. To enter, children need to submit a simple sketch and 100 words explaining their invention. . Find out more at: www.youngimagineers.equinor.com . . . #STEM #childrenintoSTEM #littlescientist #littleinventor #summerholidayentertainment #summerholidayactivities #ad #kidsloveboxesAnyone else struggling with ‘end of the school year itis? . I hate this time of year, I feel like we’re all slowly limping, or pulling ourselves along the floor on our bellies, towards Friday’s finishing line. I’m tired, grouchy, under the weather, can’t think straight (not good when I have a book to finish this week - this picture is literally me right now!), the heat is stopping me from sleeping well so I’m absolutely shattered. The kids are tired and grumpy, we’re all snapping at each other. Plus in their wisdom, school have thrown in numerous productions, activity days, dressing up days and the like (WHY do they put these things in the last week? Is it out of spite, because it sure feels like it 😂). . Who’s with me, wishing it was 3:30pm Friday already? . . . #schoolholidays #endofterm #endoftermexhaustion #tiredmama #tiredmum #sarahockwellsmithTop Posts & Pages
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Tag Archives: gentle discipline book
How To Not Lose Your Temper As A Parent
My first real ‘red mist’ moment didn’t happen until towards the end of the toddler years. Since then they have been more regular than I would care to admit. You know what though? That’s life. Nobody is perfect. There is nothing wrong with anger, it’s a normal human emotion and actually a very useful one (more on this later). The problem is in the way we deal with it, especially in front of our children. Continue reading
Posted in Mothering
Tagged children driving me crazy, gentle discipline, gentle discipline book, how to control temper as a parent, how to stay calm as a mother, how to stay calm with children, kids driving me crazy, mindful mothering, mindful parenting, parental anger, sleep. baby sleep
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Whining Woes – Why Children Whine & How to Stop it.
Why Do Children Whine?
Children whine for many different reasons; however, there are some that are fairly universal. Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons for whining and how to reduce them, using a mindful and gentle approach to discipline. Continue reading
Posted in Teens, Toddlers, Tweens
Tagged child always whines, gentle discipline, gentle discipline book, gentle parenting whinging, gentle parenting whining, how to stop child whinging, how to stop child whining, how to stop toddler whinging, how to stop toddler whining, how to stop whining, whinging child, whining child, whining teenager, whining toddler, why do children whine
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The Three Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Disciplining Children
It doesn’t matter if you’re an authoritarian parent, hot on punishment and reward, or a gentle parent, focused on connection and empathy. Your kid is going to misbehave. Because that’s what they do….. Continue reading
Five Steps to Effective Discipline
Being mindful of neurological development is critical when you discipline. Most mainstream discipline methods – time out, naughty steps, exclusion, shaming and loss of privileges – expect cognitive abilities from children that they just don’t have Continue reading
Why Common Discipline Methods Don’t Work (and What to do Instead)
most common discipline methods focus on encouraging children to do and be better, so that they are motivated by rewards if they behave ‘well’ and punishments if they misbehave. This would seem sensible, but it makes one huge mistake. Continue reading
Gentle Parenting – You Mean ‘Hippy, Pushover Parenting’? Busting Ten Gentle Parenting Myths.
…if people ask me to explain gentle parenting in a nutshell I always say the same “treating children how we would like to be treated ourselves”. To this day I don’t understand why it is so controversial, except perhaps that we don’t treat ourselves very well? Continue reading
Posted in Babies, Mothering, Preschoolers, Teens, Toddlers, Tweens
Tagged childcare expert, discipline techqniques, gentle discipline, gentle discipline book, gentle parenting, gentle parenting book, gentle parenting expert, how to discipline, natural consequences, parenting expert, positive discipline, positive parenting, problem with naughty step, problem with time out
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