Unlike the brains of other animals, the human brain is unfinished at birth, it requires experiences and input from the world to complete and is fully dependant on adults to survive. A new born brain, via the senses, is in data gathering mode. In the first three years especially, pēpi…
It was well over ten years ago that I suddenly realized that although I saw our grandchildren frequently, very little of that time was spent one on one with them. So I made a plan then and there to devote some time each week to one grandchild, just them and…
It is a time when members of a family connect with each other in a loving way. It is a time when parents give their 100% attention to their tamariki/ children. It may involve playing together, sharing a special time, listening to each other, having fun, sharing emotions and being…
A fun activity to help children to become more involved and enjoy shopping in the supermarket Create a card for most food items the family regularly purchases. To create these cards: Save the packaging of each of these products over the course of 3 to 4 weeks; Cut out the…
In the last few years one thing that I have learnt above all else when it comes to parenting is that we as parents tend to expect more from our children, and their behaviour, than we do of ourselves. We get upset when they fight with their siblings, express their…
The theory of temperament and traits is a fascinating subject. An understanding of our own temperament, our partner’s temperament and our children’s temperament will certainly help when it comes to parenting. Especially in our understanding of how best to respond to certain behaviour that is causing us concern. I remember…
Some people have told us that they were worried about attending a parenting course. They felt that others would judge them and would think that they were not good parents. They thought it was only parents who hit their children and didn’t know the first thing about parenting that went…
These were the words of a new migrant parent when she was interviewed for a research project conducted by Whanau Marama Parenting several years ago. Behind her words are the deep concerns of many new migrant parents. In their country-of-origin children are expected to study for many hours after school…
If you are like me – just about pulling your hair out over your children fighting I recommend listening to this informative 30 minute podcast. When my four children were little they used to fight a lot. They fought every day, sometimes many times a day. This was my biggest…
The giving of real respect comes as a heart response from the person giving it. Actually we can’t make our children do anything from their heart. There needs to be ‘willingness’ from within them. We can try to make our children do something and it may result in them complying, maybe out of fear, but it…