We have a shy child. She is the product of two parents who were both chronically shy as children and who are also both on the far end of the introvert scale. (Not that being an introvert automatically means you are shy, nor does being an extrovert make you immune to being shy.) But there she is, your fairly typical shy child, doing her best to make her way in the world.
Topics: Parenting, Behaviour, Primary School, Preschool, Prep, Toddlers
The term ‘fine motor’ refers to the use of the small muscles of the body. Any part of the body that uses small muscles, such as hands, wrists, fingers, feet, toes, lips, mouth and tongue, are covered by the term ‘fine motor’.
Topics: Primary School, Preschool, Prep, Toddlers
Think play dough is just for pre-schoolers?
I am always amazed at how much time older children and even adults will spend happily squidging and modelling if they get their hands on it.
I have used play dough to divert teenagers at youth groups, as an ice-breaker at grown-up parties and as a medium for imaginative play and learning.
Topics: High School, School Holidays, Primary School, Preschool, Prep, Toddlers, Craft
I don’t think it matters if it’s the makeup on your daughter in Year 11 or the ice blocks with your Prep child, sooner or later your child will try and convince you that you are the ONLY parent drawing a line in the sand on any given issue.
Topics: Parenting, High School, Behaviour, Primary School, Preschool, Prep, Toddlers
We love our kids. We want to provide for them, do our best for them and protect them. But sometimes our desire to make them happy and our dedication to looking after them can lead to ‘over-parenting’. With the best intentions in the world, we can over-praise, over-indulge and over-protect our little darlings ... and risk raising self-centred, entitled dependents, unable to think for themselves.
Here are some red flags that indicate you might be raising a spoilt child:
Topics: Parenting, Teens, High School, Behaviour, Primary School, Social Skills, Preschool, Toddlers
“The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school.”
National Commission on Reading (USA), 1985
Research shows that children who read proficiently in the early school years generally perform better at every stage of their education.
Topics: Parenting, Literacy, Primary School, Preschool, Toddlers
