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In my #GentleDiscipline book I talk about the problem of a #naturedeficit and how spending less time in nature is negatively affecting our children, both physically (their eyesight is getting worse as a result) and emotionally (more difficult behaviour). Children today are far more likely to be able to identify corporate logos, than they are tree and wildflower species. Nature words are disappearing from their vocabulary at an alarming rate as they spend far much more time indoors, in play centres and in front of screens. Simply, our kids need to get outside more - and so do we. Especially if we want to protect what little nature is left on our planet. We need to raise kids who treasure it! . Forests played a huge role in my own upbringing, one of my favourite possessions was my tree spotting book - I can still name almost every species of tree, just by looking at its leaves, or bark. If I didn’t write books, my dream job is to work as a gardener. Forests make me feel calm and revitalise me more than any other landscape (and I spent the first five years of my life growing up on the coast). They have played a large role in my kids’ lives too - we make full use of our @nationaltrust passes and are lucky to live close to a beautiful large ancient, protected forest and we’ve been on many @forestholidays as a family. We were lucky that their school run weekly forest school sessions too (though the need for forest school makes me feel sad). . Children today need to climb more trees, have more conker fights, play with sycamore aeroplanes, make fairy tea parties with acorn cups, gather more blackberries and eat them straight from the bush, make more daisy chains and leaf prints, dissect owl pellets, play in mud, collect forest treasures and breathe more fresh air. This little book has lots of great ideas if spending time in forests isn’t second nature to you - or your kids. . . . #foresttherapy #forestschool #naturekids #wildkids #naturematters #wildings #wildthings #hugatree #gentleparenting #naturalparentingSo much truth in this. It doesn’t matter what brand of clothes your kids are wearing, when they slept through the night, when they potty trained, when they start reading, how many words they know, what you do today and how many tantrums they have. What matters is that they are loved and accepted for who they are.....and that means starting with accepting yourself and all that you offer to them. Forget the superficial stuff and focus on the love 💕💕 . . . #gentleparenting #gentlediscipline #gentlesleep #positiveparenting #attachmentparenting #naturalparenting #bedsharing #cosleeping #unconditionalparenting #mindfulparenting #mindfulmotherhood #toddlercalm #babycalm #sarahockwellsmith #parentingtipsI came across a tweet by @neildegrassetyson this week, saying “Scientists are simply adults who retained and nurtured their native curiosity from childhood” and it reminded me of this picture of my daughter when she was a toddler. She had found a bottle of sun cream (a baby one, so that thick, sticky greasy white stuff) and tipped the whole lot out over herself and my rug. . My first instinct was to yell, angry that she’d wasted a whole bottle of expensive cream and ruined my rug too. Then I paused, she hadn’t been deliberately naughty. She was experimenting, being naturally curious about the properties of the cream and how she could manipulate it. She was actually being pretty darn clever. There was no malice or manipulation behind her actions, just curiosity. Now, 9 years on, she’s a fantastic scientist and still as curious as ever. . I could have shouted and chastised her on this day, but instead I decided to see the good in what she’d done. I snapped the picture for posterity, held my tongue while I spent *hours* cleaning her, her dress and the rug and learned that I needed to be cleverer about where I kept the sun cream in future 😉 . . . #gentlediscipline #gentleparenting #positiveparenting #positivediscipline #attachmentparenting #naturalparenting #mindfulparenting #mindfulmothering #toddlercalm #sarahockwellsmithWishing you all the strength you need to get through this week 😘 . . . #monslay #mondaymotivation #gentleparenting #attachmentparenting #positiveparenting #mindfulparenting #mindfulmotherhood #mindfulmothering #parentinginspirationTop Posts & Pages
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Tag Archives: toddler manipulate
The Manipulation Myth
Believing that babies and young children can and do manipulate us predisposes to parent as two teams. Us against them. It predisposes us to punish and ignore, rather than connect and understand. Continue reading →
