janetlansbury
elevating child care

Crying and Tantrums

Posted by janet on Feb 27th, 2015

7 Reasons Kids Need Us to Disagree

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It can be our tendency as parents to avoid conflict with our children. But disagreements are a natural part of our parent/child relationship and a healthy (though seldom fun) interaction. The irony is that if we practice the art of respectful disagreement, our relationship will strengthen, deepen, and actually involve less real conflict. I often hear from parents who share concerns about their children testing...
Posted by janet on Feb 20th, 2015

Parenting Made Easier

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Every so often I receive a critical comment along the lines of this one: “…reading things such as “I asked my baby if she wanted me to lift her up and with the slightest nod of yes, I did” (not exact quote) — when talking about a month-old baby — makes me want to laugh. It is true that babies, infants and toddlers should be treated with respect, and I adhere to the notion of the calm parent...
Posted by janet on Jan 15th, 2015

Helping Your Baby Learn to Sleep (Guest Post by Eileen Henry)

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“Sleep is not always a problem to fix. There is a large part that remains a mystery.” That comment from sleep specialist Eileen Henry nails the reason I find it far more challenging to help parents with sleep issues than I do all other aspects of parenting. Sleep is deceptive and ambiguous, and I am infinitely more comfortable with clarity. This is also the reason I often ask Eileen -– always fearless and...
Posted by janet on Jan 8th, 2015

The Most Important Thing to Know About Your Child’s Aggression

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Children act aggressively to express a variety of feelings that all come under one heading: Discomfort. Understanding this truth is crucial for parents committed to respectful care, because our perceptions of our children’s behavior will always dictate our responses. When we treat an uncomfortable child in need of our help and safety like a bad kid needing scolding, a lesson, or punishment, we create distance,...
Posted by janet on Dec 12th, 2014

7 Happiness Tools We Can Give Our Children

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Our second daughter started college this fall. She’s an old soul who’s always strummed to her own beat, so it wasn’t surprising that she’d found high school restrictive and uninspiring, both academically and socially. But, as we’d hoped, college has been a different story. She’s thriving in the freer, more diverse atmosphere, more fulfilled and content than she’s been in years. Recently, while...
Posted by janet on Nov 27th, 2014

When Empathy Doesn’t Work

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“Rarely can a response make something better. What makes something better is connection.”                                    – Brené Brown, Ph.D.  I once entered an elevator to the sounds of a crying infant. The mother faced forward and was holding the baby up to face the rear of the elevator. She was shifting her body from side to side and patting the baby’s back in an attempt to quiet...
Posted by janet on Nov 14th, 2014

Why is My Child Behaving This Way? (A Checklist)

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I’m blessed to work with mindful parents, most of whom have ‘sensitive’ and ‘respectful’ down.  They’ve made a concerted effort to develop a quality connection with their children, and their behavior usually reflects that. So they’re understandably thrown when resistant or defiant behavior occasionally crops up anyway. The good news: getting back on track is simple, because all that’s usually needed...
Posted by janet on Oct 31st, 2014

3 Baby Sleep Stories (And What We Can Learn From Them)

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If the sleep process is working like a dream in your family, there’s little reason to read on. And congratulations! But if you’re like many of us, easing your baby into dreamland isn’t always smooth sailing. Here are three baby bedtime stories that may shed some light on your sleep issues and/or help you avoid difficulties in the future. One element they all have in common: a highly aware, attuned, open-minded...

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