. . . or: “When you read this then you may have some new parenting ideas!” Does anyone else feel like parenting is an ongoing experience of what I imagine herding cats would feel like? I’ve been at it for 17 years now and it hasn’t really gotten any easier. I feel as though I have spent most of my time as a parent trying to convince my kids to
A few years back I read a popular book called “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant. It was an historical novel written about biblical times, specifically Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and brother of Joseph. It was an entertaining read that I highly recommend. What was particularly compelling for me was the concept of the ‘red tent’. It was where women would go when they were menstruating. They would be
Most parents experience the anguish that comes with watching their child harm another little one. This is especially challenging as it can be an emotionally charged issue for any adults in attendance, let alone the child in harm’s way. Yet for the child who is demonstrating the aggression, it is most likely not charged with the emotion one would expect. As a matter of fact, “aggression” is defined as “hostile
There are few more challenging moments for parents than a young child’s upset. One can never be perfectly ready for every little bump in the road their child experiences. There are so many sources of upset throughout the day. Sometimes they are physically hurt, other times they are distressed over a broken or lost toy, at times their upset comes from transitioning from one activity to another, or giving up
“Love:” had it’s maiden run at the Fringe Festival in Calgary Alberta this past summer. Restaged to fit into a dramatic setting, the 3 woman show moved between modern narrator (Carrie Kalmykov) and an old-school piano bar setting (Lauren Woods, vocals; Margaret Dahlberg, piano) The 55 minute show was awarded “Best of Fest”. The story follows the trials of a middle aged woman who is searching for ‘the one’ and
Remorse: ‘Say you’re sorry’ isn’t enough: Seeing your child cause tears in another is a difficult moment. Often a caregiver’s immediate reflex is to quickly command “Say you’re sorry!” However, there is far more opportunity to teach children to ‘clean up’ their emotional impact on others when navigated appropriately. Why not jump to ‘sorry’? Remorse is an unrealistic expectation from the under developed brain. Still by introducing the consequences of ones
When I described my website content to my designer, he had a puzzle to solve: How do you cohesively represent a person who wishes to be promoted as a musician, early-childhood music specialist, song-writer, composer, piano teacher, music therapist and finally. . . FAMILY COACH??? This was an evocative question and I had to think about the answer: Once upon a time I was so immersed in a career as
