Even if you’re an expert who has written 13 bestsellers on parenthood, your adult sons and daughters will assume you know nothing about childrearing. Your advice and opinions will not be welcome, unless directly solicited. Tread lightly.
To be graceful is to move smoothly, both physically and emotionally, as well as to be gentle and kind. Parenting gracefully through this quarantine is no small feat, but I believe there are a couple of simple steps parents can take with their elementary-age kiddos.
When it comes to our family’s bookshelves, I’ve decided to ignore advice about decluttering because you can never have too many children’s books around the house. Finding time to read to your kids daily from the time they’re babies is the most important thing; I still read to my 10-year-old every day. But as a literacy specialist, I know that the way you read—your tone, the rise and fall of your pitch, as well as the expression that you incorporate—can matter just as much as the narrative and pictures in a book. Here are three simple strategies that you can use to help your child’s reading interest and level flourish as you cuddle up together.
When schools and day cares shut down in March, no one thought it would last more than a few months. But in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic is nowhere near under control. That makes in-person schooling an iffy proposition in many parts of the country. Even if your school plans to have students on campus for at least part of the school year, it’s wise to prepare for repeated shutdowns, closures, or quarantines when children, teachers, and staff test positive for COVID-19. Remote learning is here to stay, so we spoke to several ed tech experts about identifying possible obstacles and aiming for reasonable goals.
I began to realize that children’s books were a way into a conversation that our family had not been having. And it wasn’t just that we weren’t talking to our 3-year-old about differences in race and ethnicity. My wife and I had not been talking about it, either, at least not directly and not often, and this was despite our being a multiracial family.
No matter what shape school takes for your child this fall — remote, in-person, some combination thereof — there’s no question this year is going to be different. The usual day-to-day rhythms are gone. The stakes are high. Parents and teachers are on edge. But now, more than ever, we are all in this together. And parents and caregivers certainly want to help support the educators who are risking quite a lot to guide their children through these unprecedented times.
Your kids are hearing about coronavirus (COVID-19). You want to make sure they get reliable information — and you want them to hear it from you. Here’s how to talk about it.
Children are capable of understanding science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts when they are less than a year old but these skills must be developed intentionally.
Hoping to help your preschooler with math skills? Here are some basic tips that experts suggest. You can practice all these skills using books and activities featured in the Caribu app! Work on counting, shapes, addition, subtraction, measuring and more!
With families around the world spending unprecedented amounts of time in close quarters – and under varying degrees of stress – emotions can run high. In good times and in hard times, parents can take steps to help their children strengthen their emotional competence. Parents may not always feel up to this task – especially in challenging moments – and yet parenting can be an opportunity for adults to strengthen their own emotional intelligence.