ENCORAGEMENT vs PRAISE

Understanding the difference is key, how and when we use them is very important.



Maren writes  "With encouragement we offer the idea that mistakes are simply learning opportunities, and that to learn and grow, we all have to make mistakes.  With encouragement we respect the child’s abilities, efforts and integrity to try to do the right thing.  An encouraging phrase or two:  I know you can figure this out.  You’re good at solving problems; I’m sure you’ll figure it out. "

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Accidental Teaching

 Accidental Teaching: A new way to think about 'Teaching Moments'


Writer Cindy Terebush highlights the power of teaching by example.



When I was preparing a presentation about being an intentional teacher, my husband said, “As opposed to accidentally teaching?  Are people accidentally teaching?” and laughed.  Yes, actually.  In fact, we accidentally teach far more often than intentionally.  Everything we do and say is a lesson for children.  They watch and listen.  It is from those moments when we are being observed that children learn so much about priorities, interpersonal relationships, coping, self-control, reacting to events and even their own self-worth.  There is a reason why “the apple never falls far from the tree.”  Children figure out how to walk through this world based upon their observations.  Have you considered what your children learn from these accidental teaching moments?

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Teaching & Supporting the Older Teen

 Our roles as teacher and supporter do not stop, they shift and change based on environment, influences, timing and needs.  What was helpful when our kid was 13 is very different then when he is 17.  We need to continually hone our parenting tools as we navigate their voyage from childhood to adulthood.

6 Ways for Your Older Teen to Start Great Habits- It’s Never Too Late!

Is your 17, 18, or 19 year-old lacking necessary life skills?  It’s not too late.  It’s true, by the time your kid reaches late adolescence she should have all of the base skills necessary to function in the adult world.  These skills may be rough but they should be there.

At 16, a youth can legally operate a motor vehicle and hold a part-time job in most states.  At 17 a youth can serve as an active duty service member in the United States Armed Forces.  At 18, although he’s still your kid, he’s a legal adult for all intents and purposes.  In no other time in life is there such rapid growth coupled with ever-increasing responsibility than in adolescence.  A high rate of change is happening to them and around them.  No matter how old, adolescents need your guidance navigating the weight of  adulthood well into their early twenties.

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New Habits

4 Tips for Healthy Boundaires

As we venture back into the routine of the school year, here are some helpful suggestions about creating boundaries for our teens.

Setting healthy boundaries for teenagers need not be a difficult feat for parents to achieve. Many teenagers go to the way side because parents give up on parenting once their kids have reached the age of 14 or so.

Did your parents also set healthy boundaries for you when you were a teen? I wonder if they had a tough time, or whether you were an easy teen to handle without any set boundaries?
Practical Parenting is about extending your parenting skills further and for longer.

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