Parenting

Thoughts on interview with  Madeline Levine   Two things that really resonated with me.  First, how involved parents should be in their children's lives. How much 'support' should parents offer so as to encourage children to take risks which would allow them to step out of their comfort zones while at the same time not stifling their growth due to over-protectiveness. Our son recently started going to kindergarten after almost a year of spending much of his time with his parents. It's tough on him. He doesn't want to let go of us. But at the same time we need to leave him with his kindergarten teachers so that he gets used to the environment and not expect us to be there all the time. If we should do it so drastically or help him integrate gradually is always a struggle.  Second, that our own insecurities can influence how we raise children. Although I think of myself as a parent who would let his son be - my son is just about three yet -  I cannot deny that dee...

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WjgR26_s2o Characteristics of playful learning experiences  1. Iterative: The activity, since it is DIY and involves everyday materials, has a lot of potential to be iterative. Children might want to tweak a few things here and there to see what result they get.  2. Actively engaging: While DIY activities themselves are quite engaging, the end product  of this activity  in itself doesn't seem to be very engaging per se. After having dabbled with it for a while, the children might lose interest unless something changes about it. 3. Meaningful: Again, with some real-life applications, the activity/product can be made meaningful. As it is presented in the video, I don't see how meaningful it can be.  4. Joyful: As stated earlier, the activity of making the toy itself is engaging and thus joyful. Playing with the toy would be joyful as well for some time.   5. Socially interactive: If the activity is done w...

  What element of your parenting practice do you want to change?          More than something that is a direct part of the parenting, I'd like to change some                indirect elements such as: How I react when to my partner's words / actions when our son is around How organised I am with respect to space and time? Do I follow a routine or not?            What do you find too carpenter-like in your current practice?         I wish that my son has some habits or some likes such as observing nature, learning about nature or that he is good with numbers when he grows up. I try to teach him names of birds or numbers which he seems to like at the moment and seems to learn rather well. However, I feel like I am guiding him toward a certain direction than him choosing that direction. What steps will you take in changing your practice?          R...