Shelly, Author at Awake Parent

July 5, 2012

Five Steps to Independent Play

Independent play can be elusive when our kids are accustomed to being entertained, read to, or otherwise catered to, but things don’t have to stay that way. You can create an environment that entices your child to engage in hours of independent play with minimal supervision and virtually no need to guide or direct them. But there are some essential steps to take to make your foray into independent play a success.

Here are my five steps to independent play:

1) Provide a safe space- First things first; if you aren’t absolutely certain that your child is safe, you’ll never be able to allow her to play alone in the other room. Safety is probably the most consistent barrier to independent play that I’ve observed in the homes of my friends, colleagues, and clients. On the other hand, when you know that your child can’t possibly pull the bookcase over on him or get into the medicine cabinet, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to let them do their own thing. read more

June 27, 2012

Spending Time in Nature is Essential to Wellbeing

There is something magical about the land we were on last weekend. The babbling brooks, the rock lined trails, the sound of the wind through the trees. Birdsong, fire pits, drums, and dirt all found their way back into my heart and into the rhythm of our lives. I had almost forgotten how much it nurtures me to spend time in nature.

Sure, we were cold, wet and uncomfortable some of the time. There were times when my husband and I wished for our climate controlled home and we definitely missed our hot tub during the cold cold nights. But it felt good to lean on the trees for support or to sit on a rock to rest. It was nice to look up into the sky and remember that rain helps the plants to grow and that the sun is their food. And after a while I found myself bounding through the forest, enlivened and excited so much that I wanted to race from place to place through the forest. read more

June 21, 2012October 5, 2012

First Sink and Float Activity

Julia’s first sink/float activity!

I simply wrote sink and float at the top of a piece of card stock, drew a line down the center and then laminated it.

Then I collected some items that sink and some that float. I poured the water into the bucket for her and she had a blast testing each item and putting them on her chart in the appropriate location.

After introducing this yesterday, she woke up and immediately wanted to do this work again. It’s a hit!

June 21, 2012

Encouraging the Daddy Love: How to manage a strong parental preference for mom and help your child bond with daddy, too

Disclaimer: For the ease of writing this article, I’ll be writing it to moms who are well bonded with their children and who want strategies to help their child or children bond with dad more deeply. Please know that I fully acknowledge that your family could consist of two moms, two dads, or a dad who is more bonded than a mom. I love all configurations of family so please interpret my words as needed to apply to your family. And for all those single parents out there, I’ll write something special for you soon too! read more

June 13, 2012June 13, 2012

Learning is NOT Linear: The Ebb and Flow of Learning & Growing, Retreating & Regressing

When I first began studying child development I thought things happened in a pretty linear fashion. First you learn to crawl, then you walk, after that you learn to talk and so on. And if you study information about ages and stages, you can come to the same misinformed conclusion.

But after 20 years of experience with young people, I can tell you for certain, learning is not linear. Children might learn and grow in one area and retreat and regress in another and they can do it all at the very same time. When we forget about the non-linear life experience of learning and growing, we set ourselves up for disappointment and we have unrealistic expectations of our children. read more