Dear Annie,
My almost 6-year-old kindergartener daughter complains that I "always want her to be the best in the class." She doesn't like it if I correct any of her homework, which I am required to review and sign. She also doesn't like it if ask her if she understands something she is singing. (I ask her that because she goes to an immersion school and learns in another language.) Is it me? Is it her? What can I do to change myself and/or how I interact with her?
~Lisa
Dear Lisa, Continue reading
Tagged as:
homework,
kindergarteners,
stress
Give yourself credit for small acts of caring.
My to-do list has amazing regenerative powers. For each "to-do" I slash off, two more magically appear in its place. But whenever I have a day that feels particularly unproductive, I take a second to remember Lego Man’s hair. Yes, you read that right: I’m talking about the tiny piece of plastic that fits on Lego figures’ heads. I call this to mind because of an incident that happened a few years ago on a not-so-wonderful day. Continue reading
Tagged as:
appreciation,
chores,
elementary school,
giving thanks,
kindergarteners,
motherhood,
preschoolers,
to-do list
Recent research may make your family’s food woes a littler easier to digest.
One study, from University College London, that looked at identical and fraternal twins, suggested that some children are genetically predisposed to shun new foods. Continue reading
Tagged as:
Babies,
elementary school,
Food,
kindergarteners,
nutrition,
picky eaters,
preschoolers,
research,
Toddlers
Rethink family rituals.
When my kids were young, I was obsessed with a desire to have dinner as a family every single night. I had read the research on the importance of family meals and despite the fact that Steve and I rarely managed to get home from work before 7 - closer to the kids’ bedtime than their dinnertime - I would attempt to throw some kind of meal on the table before the kids had a total meltdown. Suffice it to say, I rarely succeeded. I would then complain to Steve that we had to get home earlier, that depriving the kids of warm family-dinner memories would lead them straight to the psychiatrist’s couch, and so on and so on. Continue reading
Tagged as:
elementary school,
expectations,
family dinner,
family time,
kindergarteners,
parent guilt,
preschoolers,
traditions,
Work-family Balance
How to use play to win bedtime battles, get kids to do chores, and more
I’ve met hundreds of mothers with kids of varying ages who suffer from the perfect mom fantasy, but it seems to cling with punishing tenacity during our children’s school years. Their lives are suddenly a lot busier, homework and after-school activities much more demanding, and when they feel the pressure, we do, too. Given the current state of the economy, many parents are working extra hours or trying to find ways to cut back on treats - like dinners out - so the dreaded "witching hour," between work/school and dinner/bedtime can be particularly rough. Continue reading
Tagged as:
bedtime battles,
chores,
elementary school,
kindergarteners,
Play,
preschoolers
Dear Annie,
