I just finished reading a very cool little ebook called, The Ultimate Kids Guide to Happiness that was advertised as a “Mini Personal Growth Book for Kids With Action Items”
The Ultimate Kids Guide to Happiness – a review
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Monthly Archives: September 2010
Celebrating HALF!
The grandson’s birthday is this week and it’s just inspired a very downstream idea!
As kids get older the birthday parties get more and more crowded. That’s to be expected. But while I look forward to the ‘Cosmic Bowling’ party for a first-grader, it occurs to me that I could have a blast… and get some great one-on-one time… by spreading out the celebration of those special kids in my life by celebrating their HALF BIRTHDAY! ;-)
Admittedly, this January birthday girl always yearned for a summer birthday so that may contribute to some of my enthusiasm here… but the more I think about it the more full of ideas I get. In fact, I’ve updated my calendar right now and I’m ready to celebrate in March and July with all things HALF.
10 Things I know for sure about parenting
What follows are simply random thoughts I had while driving in a storm –
1. The Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic was built by professionals.
2. Trying to reason with a kid when they’re in the middle of a tantrum is unreasonable.
3. If you’re human the day will always feel like you’re moving 2 steps forward, one step back. It’s still progress.
What is Downstream Parenting?
I’m delighted you decided to explore downstream-parenting.com – and I figure now is as good a time as any to talk with you a bit about the title and subtitle of my blog.
I’m aware it may be a deal-breaker as there is a high probability I will step on some fairly fundamental beliefs of some of my readers. (should that say ‘potential’ readers? ;-)) Yet it seems only fair that we lay our cards on the table and be upfront early on in our relationship here.
Reading – not just for bedtime
I’m a reader. I LOVE reading! Books are full of stories. Stories are full of adventure. And adventure is what a kid lusts for (even the so-called shy ones who might deny it). With hardly any encouragement at all… books and their stories can inspire wonderful, magical play!
And that’s the problem with only reading to your children at bedtime. (You ARE reading at bedtime, aren’t you??) Don’t get me wrong, bedtime is a wonderful time for reading. It just A time for reading. After all… inspiring rowdy play right before sleep makes little sense, and while reading can be a very calming experience… providing an opportunity to talk about a variety of things… it can also be an experience that calls for ACTION!
Why do siblings respond differently to similar influence?
Have you ever noticed siblings who were raised by the same parents don’t become carbon copies of one another? You know what I mean, where one child will grow up to be happy and successful while a brother or sister can experience a very painful life?
There are times when I get together with my siblings and we’re talking about childhood experiences it often sounds like we were raised by entirely different people in entirely different neighborhoods!