I'll be out of town un til December 5th.  see you again on Dec ember 6th.   more »

I will be out of town until the 5th.  My blogging entries will start up again on the 5th of December .   more »

I'm out of town and won't be blogging for the next few days.  see you on December 6th.   more »

I will be out of town for the next few days and will return on the 6th of december   more »

I'm away from my computer fopr the next four days and will return on December 6th.  May your week be filled with peace and grace.

MaryLynne

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To help your children with you while shopping, tell them ahead if time, you're going to play a game called "go and stop".

When everything is not working. Hold your child's hand to control your child's pace. Say, "Go" and start walking very fast in the mall. Then say, "stop" and stop (it is usually a squeal). Then say "Go" and so on. The child will soon be having so much fun to forget about what was happening before. You will likely get some choice looks from customers (smile back).   more »

This is a great idea to use with children when getting ready to leave a store or shopping mall.

The Fun Train
This continues to work 95 per cent of the time. When it is time to leave, I say, "time to go to the fun train (which is our vehicle) . . . all aboard." I'll call the children by name and we walk behind each other, "choo-chooing" to the fun train. My five year old told me that I am the conductor and we now need pretend tickets for the fun train. I'll usually only need to announce boarding twice before the little patter of feet are chugging along.

This idea came from a therapeutic child web site.   more »

Another way to spend closer time with your child is to take five minutes and slowly give your child a bck rub/massagte after he or she gets into bed.  You can use this time to teach your child to breathe in and out more slowly,out all the yucky feelings of the day and breathe in quiet, calming. peaceful energy to help him or her fall asleep.   more »

You ask your child to do something and he doesn't budge,  You say it again and nothing happens.  This isn't the first time your child ignires you when you speak.  One way to deal with this is to make sure you're facing your child when you speak to him or her.  Get eye contact by gently placing your hand on his or her shoulder.  Say what you have to say and then sremarkm "What did you hear me say?"   If the child answers correctly, answer with, Great listening!"

When children ignore you, they're not taking you seriously.  You can change this by getting close enough to your child to get eye contact and ask what you just said.

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One of the ways you can get closer to your child emotionally is to sit down with some hand lotion.  Let your child know this is some quiet time for the two of you to spend together,  take slower, deeper breaths and slowly massage your child's hands.  When you're througth, ask your child if he or she wouod like to practice massaging your hands.  Accept whatever answer you'r given.   more »

Parents often feel frustrated when their chdilodren don't come home on time.  When a child does this, I look at the behavior developmentally.  At what age does this behyavior normally happen?  You find this behvior in toddlers.  They get so involved in what they're doing, nothing else matters; especially time.

If your child comes home late, say, "Thanks for letting me know you're not big enough and strong enough to come home on time.  The next time you want to visit your frinds or go out and play, you'll have to do it at home.  I know that someday, maybe sooner, mayber later, you'll be able to come home on time."  Say nothing else and walk away.  If yur child starts to argue, smile sweetly and softly say, "I love you too much to argue."  Then consinue walking away.

You can have your child do practice drills by going out ...   more »

I want to wish all the fanilies a Happy Thanksgibving!   more »

Psychologists Myrow and Myrow (2002) came up with another engaement activity called Pushing My Buttons.  The parent and child are sitting close to each other when the parent says, "What will happen when I push this button?"  The adult gently presses some part of the child's body and makes a noise.  it might look like this:

Press the nose and make a "honk" sound

Press the shoulder and make a "bleep" sound

Press the ear and make a "clucking" sound.

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Dr. Anthony Kane wrote an article called "The Seven Keys to Child Obedience."  I hope you find it helpful.   more »

Bear Hug

If your child has a small stuffed teddy bear or other animal, getit and hug it close.  Then, hand it to your child to see if he or she hugs it.  Ask for the animal back; give it another hug, and return it.  End this simple game with a hug for your child and stuffed animal together.

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Another brain gym exercise found in the Dennisons' book, Brain Gym, is called the Balance Button.  It helps with thinking, relaxing for test taking, and organizational skills.  While sitting down, touch two fingers to the indentation at the base of the skull, behind the ear.  Rest the other hand on your navel.  Imagine breathing the energy up through the body, slowly and deeply.  After a minute, switch hands and hold your two fingers behind the other ear.   more »

Another way to create positive interactions with your children is to build or create something together.  Perhaps you could use nuts and bolts, screws and screwdrivers with a peice of wood to create something fun together.  For the cooks out there, have your child help you make something from a mix such as cake, brownies, cookies, muffins, etc.  have the child help with pouring and stirring.  make it a fun activity whereby you know you are helping your child feel better about himself or herself because you're giving the child your full attention.

The child will also practice eye-hand coordination, linear thinking and patience.

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Interacting with your child in positive ways is an important part of parenting.  It doesn'nt take a great deal of time and brings back great rewards to you andyour child.  It was developed by Theraplay experts Jernberg & Booth in 1999.

Playfully check your child's body parts to see if they are hot, cold, hard or soft.  This is especially good with a younf child and an older child who's feeling emotionally distant or unattached.  Have fun!

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Paul and Gail Dennison have this exercise in their book, Brain Gym that helps with math and spelling skills.  The elephant will also help you to listen better.  Stand up, bending your knees and 'glue' your head to your shoulder and point across the room to the left.  Use your ribs to move your whole upper body as you trace a Lazy 8 on it's side.  Look past your fingers.  Then, repeat with the other side.

If you have your child practice spelling his or her spelling words in the air, it helps him or her to remember them.

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This activity originated from psychologists Myrow & Myrow in 2002.  The parent sits down facing the child and fills own cheeks with air.  Then, the parent guides the child's hands to the parent's face to push gently on the adult's cheeks with the fingers to pop out the air.  Then, encourage the child to fill his or her own cheeks with air and the parent then pops the air out.   more »