Search Results for: blog going with the flow boundaries and non coercive parenting

Our Home for Lost Dolls

My daughter seems to be learning to read using garage sale signs. Every weekend when we’re out in our neighborhood, she looks at all of the signs on the poles and says, “Oh! A garage sale. Let’s go!” This makes me alternately grin and cringe. I love garage sales and am often tempted to spend too much money at them. Then again, I find some great items for very low prices, and sometimes I even need them. Over the last year and a half, we’ve been collecting dolls. These aren’t just any dolls. These are the drop-dead ugliest dolls you’ve … Continue reading →

Get Painting

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Painting is a delightful activity for small children, but for many parents it is a cleanup nightmare. If you have a deck, a patio, a park or a yard you can access, try painting outdoors. Everything will wash up a lot more easily. You will also end up with a beautiful backyard! Here are some colorful painting ideas for you and your preschooler: Use paint with tough leaves and place the leaves on pieces of paper. This will make a big leaf print. Put a lot of leaves together and make a tree. Place a clear plastic sheet on a … Continue reading →

Got Wheels?

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Oh dear. It had to happen at some point, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. My daughter is riding her two-wheeler bike without training wheels. To me, this is as important a milestone as walking. I remember the freedom that riding a bike gave me as a child. I had wheels, and I was going places. I would wander around the neighborhood, which was actually simply a four-block radius from my house. However, it had a forest, a playground, and some great places for bike jumps. I would race around and only occasionally fall off, speeding back … Continue reading →

Going with the Flow: Boundaries and Non-Coercive Parenting

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Kids need boundaries. I certainly believe this. Or rather, I believe that all humans need a sense of safe space. We all need to be able to move about in our worlds with a feeling of security, a feeling that we know what the rules are. However, we also need to be able to push and shape those rules as well. How much push you allow and how tight your rules are happen to be two of the defining forces in parenting. I consider myself to be a middle-of-the-road parent when it comes to rules, but I suspect that many … Continue reading →