Posted by
janet on Mar 8th, 2010
Today, while many prepare for the most glamorous event of the year (the Oscars), I’ve got my head in the toilet. The advice I’m reading on the web about potty training makes me want to scream! Potty training in 3 days? One day? Tips and tricks? People, have a little respect. Potty training is not something we do to a child, or ask the child to do to please us. Children are human beings, not puppies to...
Posted by
janet on Feb 8th, 2010
Hovering parents are taking a beating in the media these days. In an avalanche of recent articles, they are shamed, scolded and mocked for hyper-involvement in their children’s lives. ‘Experts’ are coming out of the woodwork with smug superiority, issuing dire warnings about the anxious, insecure children hovering parents are raising. We’re getting an earful about the problems, but zilch in the way of...
Posted by
janet on Feb 1st, 2010
Many of us have the sense that the children in our care chose us. We feel it especially when a child’s needs tap into our weaknesses, we are forced to adjust, and that adjustment makes us change for the better. It is as if their souls zeroed in on us and decided, “That woman and that man, those future brothers and sisters need lessons I can provide. I’ll help them grow. I’ll be their teacher.”
I...
Posted by
janet on Jan 29th, 2010
I am continually amazed by how capable babies are. Sometimes words, however descriptive (even mine!), can’t do them justice. So, I’ve attached a video from one of my classes to this post to visually demonstrate. Please have a look — no actors were hired!
I was stunned to learn years ago that once a baby is able to sit securely on his own (usually 8 to 12 months old), he can actually sit down to eat at his...
Posted by
janet on Jan 21st, 2010
It always jars me when a child is hurt — on the playground, in a soccer game, or just horsing around — and when he tearfully staggers towards his parents, he is immediately directed to “brush it off.” His natural reaction to pain and injury is perceived as babyish, weak and unappealing, or at least inconvenient for others to see or hear. Rather, he is supposed to be tough, suck it up and ignore his...
Posted by
janet on Jan 5th, 2010
Mom was right brain, Dad was left brain. I loved them both. Thankfully, Dad took care of many of life’s important details — but my mom seemed to have all the fun. Mom was spontaneity, clutter, and disorganized joy. Her presence was magnetic and her laugh contagious. She and her four daughters always arrived late to church, and were in a mad rush to school each day.
Mom made up a song that she would...
Posted by
janet on Dec 6th, 2009
An infant sits stiffly on the floor, unable to move his legs or extend his arms without losing his balance… A toddler steps off a platform and takes a tumble… Another toddler climbs the bars to the top of a wooden structure, then panics and cries out for his mom, who rushes over to rescue him…
These are children in my classes who are less physically self-assured than they might be for one simple reason: their...
Posted by
janet on Nov 25th, 2009
I saw a cartoon recently depicting a mom on a street corner with a sign that said “Will Worry for Food.”
I know the feeling. I often wake up in the night in chest pounding worry for my children — worries about their hurt feelings, their disappointments and bad moods. And, of course, I worry most for their health and safety. One small worry can spark a blazing wildfire fueled by anything and everything...