simcha's postings about love, connection, parenting & personal growth
In this video clip from her show, Oprah Winfrey shares an aha! moment when interviewing author Toni Morrison (author of The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon and Beloved) in 2000.
Appreciation and validation build our sense of importance and security in the world. Does your face light up when you see your children? Here is one simple way to validate your child, to let him/her know s/he is loved and appreciated.
Wesleyan University student Sarah Koppelkam has wise words for parents on the topic of keeping our female children healthy. Her personal blog entry was picked up and reprinted last month in the Huffington Post. Although this refreshing reminder is aimed at mothers, it contains much that fathers will find helpful as well.
Entrepreneur Sara Blakely transformed $5,000 in savings into a $500 million dollar-a-year company called Spanx, and in so doing revolutionized women’s undergarments in the process. She had never taken a business class in her life, and had never worked in the fashion or retail industries.
Ben Feiler’s lovely New York Times piece (“The Stories That Bind Us”, 3.15.2013) is adapted from his recently published book, “The Secrets of Happy Families: How to Improve Your Morning, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smart, Go Out and Play, and Much More.”
According to the findings of a 2011-2012 CDC (Center for Disease Control) study of some 76,000 families, one in five high-school age boys in the United States and 11 percent of school-age children have received a medical diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is described by most experts as resulting from abnormal chemical levels in the brain that impair a person’s impulse control and attention skills.
Martha E. Edwards, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Developing Child and Family at New York City’s Ackerman Institute for the Family, shares some ways to help children cope following the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
A popular nature-vs-nurture discussion in recent months focuses on how children develop “prosocial behavior,” the capacity to notice the distress of others and to be moved by it. In the following selection from a longer article in the NYTimes (12.10.12), Dr. Perri Klass examines the research on “how and why we become our better selves.”
Since 1996 the Natural Child Project website has offered information and resources on parenting (with a focus on early childhood), including child advocacy documents, research articles, and parenting resources.
Director Jan Hunt, author of The Natural Child (available in multiple translations), explains in this article from the Project website why physical punishment is harmful to children, ineffective as a means of discipline, and counter-productive in educating towards humane, creative problem-solving.