Parenting Tips
Bad behaviour in public places
Many parents who come to see me are experiencing bad behaviour from their children when they take them out.
Lisa came to me with the problem that trips to the supermarket had become unbearable with her two young sons. They were so badly behaved that she was embarrassed to take them, often leaving early without most of the shopping she needed. Recently she had resorted to going late at night when the boys were in bed.
However she was so exhausted after a day with them that shopping at 10pm was the last thing she felt like doing!
Why do children save their worse behaviour for public places?
How do I get my kids to listen to me?
Question: How do I get my kids to listen to me? I spend all day trying to get them to do things!
As a parent there are days when you feel you have repeated yourself all day long, and only you have been listening!
If you feel this way you probably need to think about:
- What exactly you are saying over and over again?
- Are you sure you have got their attention?
- Are they engrossed in something and they don’t ‘’hear” you.
- Are you just issuing command after command?
- Do you yell at them so much that they just tune out? Read the rest of this entry »
Biting and Hitting
Question: My child has started biting and hitting at preschool and this is causing me great embarrassment. What is up with him? How can I manage this behaviour?
Hitting, biting or fighting behaviour is unacceptable at any age.
Dealing with this depends on the age of your child as to how you handle it.
Very young children can be told ‘no’ and removed from the situation to play somewhere else.
Slightly older kids need telling ‘no’, and explaining that hurts and he shouldn’t do it. This type of behaviour is almost always either attention seeking behaviour or a result of frustration. Read the rest of this entry »
Shopping Centre Tantrums!
Help! “How do I take my child to the shops, knowing at any time he /she could throw a tantrum at any minute?”
If you have to take him/her then be ‘prepared’ i.e. pick your time of day, when the supermarket is at its quietest that fits in with your schedule. If you and the children have been up since 6.00am and you’re not involved in a school run, then is there anything that says that you shouldn’t be in the supermarket by 7.30am? Sounds daft but think about it! There is an advantage to 24 hour shopping!
Keeping kids entertained!
I’m Bored!
If you’ve got kids home on school holidays, you’ve most likely heard this sentence a time or two. It’s almost inevitable. Your house is filled to the brim with activities for your kids, yet they still end up moping around saying they’ve got nothing to do. How does this happen, and how do you fix it?
Limiting T.V. or Computer time
Kylie came to see me in the offices of ‘Stamp out’, she was having a few problems with her two eldest children aged 3 and 6. Kylie also had a one year old and was feeling more and more that she was fighting a loosing battle at home.
We talked for a while and looked at areas that she was finding most difficult. Her eldest two children were very “into watching the T.V or playing computer games”.
Every time she wanted them to do something or go somewhere she faced a chorus of “oh , I am just Watching the TV Mummy”, or she would ask them to get ready for bed only to return 10 mins later to find they hadn’t moved!
Does this sound familiar?
Sibling Rivalry
My children are always fighting, what can I do?
Gemma: ‘He started it, he hit me’ 
Ben: ‘Well I hate you, you stink!’
Mum: ‘Ben, don’t talk to your sister like that!’
Ben: ‘You always take her side, it’s not fair’
Bickering, fighting and arguing between brothers and sisters are a normal part of growing up.
However, as a parent one often feels worried about this and thinks that it is a sign that their children dislike each other, or have an unhappy relationship.
Mealtime Madness!
Sarah came to see me at ‘Stamp Out’ as she was having a number of problems with her two children over their mealtime behaviour.
‘They eat the food my Mum cooks them’ she complained ‘but I can give the same meal the next night they just won’t eat it’. They say they are not hungry and start arguing with, throwing bits of food at each other and then I just loose it and send them to bed, what’s going on?’
Meal times can be really stressful and it is so hard to please everyone, especially as children’s taste buds seem to change from day to day!
There are many reasons why children are difficult at meal times.
