Why it’s important to know
• When we care for ourselves, it makes it much easier to take care of our children.
• Mindfulness strengthens the pre-frontal cortex and makes it easier for parents to manage their emotions.
• When we increase our ability to understand and manage our emotions, we model self-regulation for our children, and we are better able to remain calm during challenging parenting moments.
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Summary of how to be more mindful:
• Get enough sleep! Every aspect of parenting is easier when everyone is well rested.
• Take 10 minutes every day for you.
• Start a mindfulness practice. Start with 1 minute of deep breathing with eyes closed. Notice how you feel. Encourage your children to join you.
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Why it’s important to know:
• There is a lot of research that shows that an authoritative parenting style is most effective in raising children who are motivated, cooperative, confident, resilient, and many other positive qualities that contribute to building a healthy self-esteem.
• There are some simple (in theory) habits we can develop that help us raise children who thrive through their life and are prepared for adulthood.
• Positive parenting gives parents the confidence and skills to deal positively with challenging situations
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Summary of how to be a positive parent:
• Build one habit at a time and celebrate small wins.
• Take time for yourself.
• Think about what values you want your children to develop and model behaviors consistent with those values.
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BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR PARENTS​ (Spanish edition is avaliable on Amazon)
Why it’s important to know
• A baby’s brain is immature by design so they are not able to regulate their emotions.
• A tantrum is a communication that a need is not being met
• Parents can learn to manage their own emotions first so they can connect with their child’s emotions before trying to solve the problem
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Summary of how to manage emotions:
• Get enough sleep and remember that emotions are not permanent.
• Notice when you’re starting to feel frustrated/angry. Take a deep breath and remember you can make the choice to respond rather than react.
• Give the feeling a name and do the same for your child.
Only start to resolve a problem when everyone is calm again
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Why it’s important to know:
Schedules and routines are great for many reasons:
• Provides a sense of predictability for parents and children, and increases child’s sense of security
• Helps children learn habits so that they will eventually be able to do tasks independently
• Reduces power struggles and parents’ stress
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Summary of how to set up routines:
•With babies, try to be consistent with sleeping, feeding routines
•With older kids, create a schedule with them and make sure to positively praise them when they do what they’re supposed to do. e..g. You remembered to brush your teeth! Nice job!
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VIDEO
HANDOUT
SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLE
Why it’s important to know
• When we have an understanding of what to expect at each stage of development, we are able to respond more calmly to behaviors that we can now see as being consistent with a developmental stage.
• Temperament is fixed at birth, so taking time to understanding your child's (and your own) temperament means that you can respond calmly to behaviors that you can now see are part of their makeup.
• The parents know their children best and are when they know what to expect, they can catch potential issues early and seek out professional help
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Summary of how to be calm:
• Notice when a child is doing something you don't like. Check ... is it consistent with what they typically do at that stage? If yes, respond calmly and help them learn positive behaviors
• Go through the temperament grid. How do you compare to your child?
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CRAFT: Trace child's hand each year
Why it’s important to know
• Some children are more sensitive to smells, tastes and textures of food
• Rather than struggling to get them to eat, there are ways to build up their repetoire of food over time
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Summary of how to encourage a picky eater:
• Provide small amounts of questionable food
• Praise any small step in the righ direction. Did they pick it up? Smell it?
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SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLE
CRAFT: Making Stamps out of Vegetables
