How to Create a Culture of Accountability in Your Home

The word “accountable” means responsible, or taking responsibility for one’s actions. So when we’re talking about our kids, the question becomes, how will you make sure your child accounts for his or her actions? In other words, how will your child take responsibility for their behavior after the fact? And how can we help them think about that responsibility before they behave inappropriately? more

Developing a Sense of Wonder in Young Children

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. Parents often have a sense of inadequacy when confronted on the one hand with the eager, sensitive mind of a child and on the other with a world of complex physical nature, inhabited by a life so various and unfamiliar that it seems hopeless to reduce it to order and knowledge. In a mood of self-defeat, they exclaim, “How can I possibly teach my child about nature—why, I don’t even know one bird from another!”. more

Talking with Dr. Peter Haiman

Peter Ernest Haiman, Ph.D. was kind enough to speak with us about motivating and rewarding children. He told us that many parents miss the opportunity to encourage their children because they are too often focused on immediate needs and behaviors rather than the long term needs of the child. more

Child Development Stages as Described by Erik Erikson

Many in the field agree with the descriptions of child development stages developed and explained by Erik Erikson. Erik Homburger Erikson (1902 – 1994) was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings. We describe these stages here. more

Keeping Gifted Toddlers and Preschoolers Stimulated at Home
Why Gifted Children Have Homework Problems and What You Can Do About Them
Giving Kids an Emotional and Mental Break

Optimism and Motivation: Keys to Your Child's Success
Two psychologists describe the inborn optimism and motivation that drive children to learn and develop — and how you can nurture those traits.

Have you ever wondered how:

• An 18-month-old knows if he keeps making noises eventually you will understand what he's communicating?
• A 3-year-old knows if she keeps scribbling someday people will recognize what she' s making?
• A 4-year-old knows if he keeps looking at the words on the page one day he'll be able to read?

These behaviors can be best explained by the concept of instinctual optimism, one of the two early, critical keys for successful learning. A child doesn't have to learn by experience alone because natural instinct also guides her.
(From GreatSchools.net.
Read the full text of the article here.

How to Handle Allowance
Giving your children a regular paycheck is one of the strongest ways to teach them about money. If done correctly, it will teach responsibility, independence and how to spend money wisely. If your children do not learn these lessons at home, they will have to figure it out on their own.
(From CEOMom.com.
Read the full text of the article here.)