childhood

Redshirting: Holding Your Child Back on Purpose

April 23, 2012 By Neha D Shah Leave a Comment

Redshirting, or holding your child from starting kindergarten until they are six-years-old, is on the rise.

It used to be that parents enrolled their child in kindergarten based on the cut-off date. But now they are faced with a big decision ... start kindergarten at 5 or wait an extra year and enroll them at 6. This concept of holding a child back on purpose is called redshirting (the term comes from the practice of holding college athletes back to prolong eligibility) and it is on the rise. Some research shows that if you hold your child back one year they will be more mature - socially, ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Education Tagged With: child, childhood, children, early childhood education, education, educational stages, enrolling, holding, kindergarten, kindergarten ages, preschool children, preschool education, purpose, redhshirting, redshirt, redshirting, rose, social issues, start, starting kindergarten

What Moms are Doing Right

February 20, 2012 By Kathy Seal and Wendy Grolnick, PhD Leave a Comment

Look at what American moms are doing right, instead of turning to foreign methods.

Parenting Country by Country? How about Just Doing What’s Right for Children? With Pamela Druckerman’s new book Bringing Up Bébé extolling Gallic parenting, parents can now choose between parenting the French way or the so-called Chinese way presented last year by Amy Chua’s sensational Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Druckerman wants us to just say no, while Chua writes about doing whatever it takes, including berating our children, to demand excellence. The media storm over ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Raising Kids Tagged With: american, american mom, Amy Chua, backtracks, battle hymns, bringing up bebe, childhood, children, chua, doing, druckerman, education, family, human development, instead, method, mom, moms, pamela druckerman, parenting, tiger mom

Don’t Mind the Gap

February 13, 2012 By Amy Bizzarri Leave a Comment

Do you have a large age gap in your children? Here are some ways to make the transition easier.

When I was a little girl, before I knew that God’s response to those who planned out their lives in detail was laughter, I decided that I was going to go to college, travel around the world, become a Broadway actress, write a bestselling novel, then marry a gorgeous, wonderful man, whereupon we’d be blessed with raising two children – twins – a boy and a girl, and, well, of course, I would live happily ever after. Instead, I married, divorced, married, birthed a boy, birthed a girl, ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Raising Kids Tagged With: age gap between siblings, aging, brothers and sisters, childhood, children, family, gap, girl, human development, human interest, infancy, infant, laughter, little girls, mind, parenting, siblings, single moms, the age, transitions

Ten Tips for Potty Training Boys

January 23, 2012 By themombuzz Leave a Comment

Learn how to start potty training your boys with these tips and tricks.

There is a theory that it is harder to potty train boys than girls. But as a mom of two boys and my closest friends having boys, I can say that our boys were potty trained by the time they were two. In other words, six boys were potty trained between the ages of 17 - 24 months. And it wasn't hard. So how do you get started potty training your boys? 1. Have a Potty Seat Ready: Have a simple, easy seat that doesn't have a lot of crevices to clean or a cushion that will soak up waste. When boys ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Raising Kids Tagged With: baby bjorn little potty, babycare, boy, boy peeing, boys, chamber pot, childhood, developmental psychology, diaper, excretion, family, human development, infancy, potty, potty seat, potty train old, potty training, potty training boys, potty training library, start potty training, tips, toddler, toilet training, toilets, training underwear

Raising Responsible Children: 5 Common Causes of Irresponsible Behavior in Kids

January 19, 2012 By Jane Warren Leave a Comment

Parents can make the difference in responsible or irresponsible behavior in their kids. Read 5 common causes for your child acting out.

Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” The benefits of responsible behavior will help your child throughout her life. From good grades to successful romantic relationships, responsibility can positively impact virtually every area of your child’s life. So what’s a parent to do with an irresponsible child? There are several common causes of irresponsible behavior among children. If your child frequently exhibits behavior that is more irresponsible than ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Raising Kids Tagged With: behavior, causes, child acting, childhood, children, common cause, education, family, irresponsible, kids, parenting, parenting styles, permissive parenting, puppy, raising responsible child, responsible, responsible behavior, stress in kids, strict discipline, winston churchill

“Mommy, I’m Ugly!” — Building Your Child’s Self-Esteem (Part 2)

December 23, 2011 By Ava 11 Comments

The second in a series of steps to take to build your child’s self-esteem.

… written by Ava Parnass and Jessica Marr. Self-esteem, as you read in previous post , comes and goes — sometimes all of us feel good about ourselves and sometimes we don’t. Therefore, what we really need to teach our kids is resilience, so that they develop the skills to overcome their “Rabbit Hole” moments and reclaim their self-esteem. Here are the first 3 steps from the previous article to take when your child says the dreaded words, “I’m ugly”: Step 1: ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Parenting, Raising Kids Tagged With: build self esteem, building, childhood, children, Emotional Intelligence, Feeling Town, feelings, happiness, human behavior, human interest, mindset, mommy, motivation, parenting, personal life, positive mental attitude, positive psychology, psychological resilience, psychology, rabbit hole, self esteem, self esteem boosters, self esteem issues, TimeIn, ugly

Blog of the Week: 3rd Culture Children

December 4, 2011 By Nikki Katz Leave a Comment

The SocialMoms Blog of the Week is 3rd Culture Children – where Raquel shares her love of travel and parenting.

Congratulations to 3rd Culture Children: the SocialMoms Blog of the Week! As someone who has done very little travel in my lifetime, I'm always fascinated by travel blogs, and this is no exception. I love that Raquel is able to talk about parenting while sharing the aspects of their travels to a variety of countries across the globe. SM: What was your inspiration for starting 3rd Culture Children We are a traveling family, with the US Foreign Service. I initially began the blog to ... Continue Reading

Filed Under: The World, Travel Tagged With: academia, blog, blog of the week, childhood, children, culture, parenting, raquel, Science, shares, technology, third culture kids, travel, travel blogs, travel family, week

How to Help If Your Child is Struggling to Read

October 17, 2011 By Shannon Leave a Comment

If your child struggles to read, here are some interactive and fun ways to help.

When my daughter began Kindergarten last year I was beside myself with excitement. As a former First Grade Teacher, with my Master's Degree in Reading and Language Arts, I felt I had prepared her well. I was shocked to get a call a few weeks into the new school year from her teacher - telling me that my daughter was struggling in her reading and writing. I knew that to make her successful, certain steps needed to be taken. As a teacher I worked daily to encourage and motivate the children that ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Parenting, Raising Kids Tagged With: child, child checks, child love, child reading, childhood, children, children struggle, children writing, chore chart, education, fun, help, Help with reading and writing, kindergarten, Reading, reading level, reading readiness in the usa, reading specialist, sight word, sim, struggle, to read

Blog of the Week: Kiboomu Brings Music To Your Child

October 9, 2011 By Nikki Katz Leave a Comment

Kiboomu combines music with a variety of printables and online elements to make learning fun for your child.

Congratulations to Kiboomu: the SocialMoms Blog of the Week! It's no secret that children love signing. Whether it's crooning to the songs on the radio, or chanting a nursery rhyme, kids learn and absorb a wealth of information via music. One site that brings music together with a variety of different printable and online elements is Kiboomu.com, a site for kids developed by Wendy Wiseman and Sherry Segal. On Kiboomu, Parents and Teachers can search for simple and easy kids crafts, ... Continue Reading

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: amp energy, apple inc., blog, child love, childhood, computing, early childhood education, education, educational music, educational stages, iphone, kids learning, kindergarten, music, nursery rhymes, online element, preschool education, printables, school printables, sherry segal, time, wendy, wendy wiseman

Time Outs: Should You Dump Them for Good?

September 9, 2011 By Lea Leave a Comment

Happy family having roast chicken dinner at table

Learn the concept behind replacing your time outs with time ins.

Time outs are a part of nearly every parent’s discipline arsenal as we strive for a peaceful home ... but honestly, do they really work? Many experts say no. Time outs may work in the short term, they say, but in the long run don’t help children learn to make better behavioral choices. “Time outs build control struggles between parent and child,” says Dr. Lynne Kenney, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based pediatric psychologist. “Using time-outs means we are in damage control mode – ... Continue Reading

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Filed Under: Parenting, Raising Kids Tagged With: ava parnass, behavior, child behavior, child discipline, childhood, children, dump, education, feelings, helping children learn, ins, kenney, lynne kenney, parenting, parnass, positive parenting, punishments

What Moms are Doing Right

Don’t Mind the Gap

Ten Tips for Potty Training Boys

Raising Responsible Children: 5 Common Causes of Irresponsible Behavior in Kids

“Mommy, I’m Ugly!” — Building Your Child’s Self-Esteem (Part 2)

Blog of the Week: 3rd Culture Children

How to Help If Your Child is Struggling to Read

Blog of the Week: Kiboomu Brings Music To Your Child

Time Outs: Should You Dump Them for Good?

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