July 2016 - The Parenting Cafe

There’s a Problem on the Plane!

July 25, 2016/in 1 - 3 Years, 3 - 5 Years, 4 - 12 Months /by Sonja Preston

I recently had a 12 hour flight, returning from Europe. When I boarded I was sitting next to a young family – Mum, Dad and a 3 year old boy. As usually happens on flights, the hostess gave the boy a Kids Pack with an assortment of things to amuse him. While people were still boarding, he straight away got into the re-usable stickers – having a wonderful time sticking them on the arm rests and table tray.

As we prepared for take off, the hostess came round and told the parents he would need to put the tray table back up. The parents immediately responded, with no warning nor explanation to the child, grabbing the stickers, and shoving the table back up. Naturally he was upset, as he’d been having fun. His response…. to scream!

I’m pretty sure this has worked well for him in the past, which is why kids quickly learn that it’s an effective method of getting what you want! Read more

I’m Blowing Bubbles!

July 11, 2016/in 1 - 3 Years, 3 - 5 Years, 4 - 12 Months, Parents /by Sonja Preston

Do you ever have those days? The ones where everything seems to go wrong, or it feels like a major challenge? The days that could start well and then an incident happens, or perhaps it’s a bad day from the moment you step out of bed?

Well, the solution could be in a little bottle. And, no, it doesn’t involve alcohol! …….

Years ago, I realised just how many parents I saw were stressed with the pressures of parenting – the on-going mountains of dirty clothes to wash, the constant messy lounge room, the asking children 5 times to hang up their wet bath towels or the reminders to feed the dog, or the feeling so tired because the baby woke 3 times last night, or the worries of a sick child. Add to that the compounded work load of shopping with a baby and a cranky toddler, bringing the groceries into the house from the car in the rain, and then attempting to cook dinner whilst bathing the children and helping the older one with her homework. It’s no wonder we sometimes feel like we are going loopy, or that we’d like to run away from home! Read more

How Would You Go with the Marshmellow Test?

July 4, 2016/in 1 - 3 Years, 3 - 5 Years, Intellectual, Social - Emotional /by Sonja Preston

In the 1960’s an experiment was conducted regarding impulse control ie the ability to wait, even when you didn’t want to.

It was conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel, and involved sitting a 4 year old at a table in a room. On the table was a plate with one marshmellow on it. The Researcher told the child that she had to leave the room, and that the child could eat the marshmellow whenever they wanted, but if they waited till she (the Researcher) returned then they could have two marshmellows. For most children, marshmellow are a very appealing treat. The Researcher then left the room for 15 mins – an incredibly long time for a 4 year old to wait! The children’s responses to the ‘task’ were videoed.

If you watch the video on Youtube, you will see are the many ways the children try to not eat the marshmellow now, as they really want the second one. Read more

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