March 2017

It happens all the time. You drop your son or daughter off to school, and as you hop back in the car, you realise that they’ve forgotten something. Maybe it’s a book, or their lunch/water bottle, or something else they’ll probably need that day. So, off we go, back into the school to drop off the item at the school office so that it can be delivered to out child’s classroom. But is this the best idea to help our children become more independent?

Would it be better to just leave and let them deal without having that thing for one day? Which choice would be best in helping them to become more independent? And make them not rely on their parents fixing every little problem for them. read more

Recently, my wife, SO, sent me a newspaper article about a toy poodle by the name Anzu in Japan that is a police dog. It’s a strange thing and the idea of a tiny toy poodle being used in this role is something that I, and I suspect most people, would never have considered. But apparently, not only is she a police dog, she’s also a good and useful one.

But how, I hear you ask, does this relate to our children? Well, they have the answer, and you can read about it here.

If you didn’t read that, or haven’t done so yet, what they talk about in the article is how we as parents can use the example of that tiny canine in how we think about and treat our kids. By seeing the hidden abilities of Anzu she has become an invaluable part of his police team. And we can, and should do that with our children. read more

Is it just me, or do kids seem to have more Holidays now? Okay, thinking back to my own school days, I guess we had just as many. But they just seem to come so often now, it feels as if they’ve just gone back to school and then their off again.

Jay went back to school on the 2nd of January, and it’s now the 13th of March and he’s got a week holiday. To make it worse, he was sick for a total of 7 school days, meaning he was home for 11 days in a row. I guess that made it seem like he had an extra week of holidays in the middle of term. read more

It’s happened to most parents at one time or another. You’re in the middle of a crowded mall when suddenly the world shatters. Lying in front of you, trying to smash the floor to pieces, is your little one. Frustrated at not getting what they want, they lash out with no concern or acknowledgement that anything in the world exists, except for them and what they want. And you, dear parent, and I am with you in this, are the cause of this monstrous disaster.

So, what do we do? For those of us who have read the parenting books, and we even discussed this in class at university when I studied psychology, we try to ignore it and let our precious angel wear themselves out. You may have even seen that photo of Drew Barrymore that’s going around now, standing there ignoring her daughter as she throws a tantrum. It seemed so easy for her, and she even gets to go on talk shows to explain it. read more