|
Bill Corbett: Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2012 6:31 PM
My 14-year-old will do whatever she can to get out of having to sit at the dinner table and eat with us. From saying she’s full from her after-school snack to having too much homework to saying she’s tired. My wife and I ignore her excuses and calmly tell her that this is one of those things that we do as a family. I tell her it’s one of those “do as the Romans do” types of things and she usually slinks up to the table looking defeated. Before we know it, she’s perky and talking about the best and worst moments from her day at school. |
|
|
Posted on Thursday, March 01, 2012 10:23 PM
 I teach parents how to help shape their child's world by helping to raise an emotionally balanced and peaceful child, and one that pays less attention to what's going on in the outer world. It is not healthy for us to raise our children caring about what's happening on American Idol or Jersey Shore. We must do this by helping our children develop a greater awareness of their connection with their inner self and their intuition. The constant barrage of reality and talent |
|
|
Bill Corbett: Posted on Sunday, February 05, 2012 12:57 PM
 Ever find yourself thinking about a great intention, such as making a date with someone special in your life, only to realize later that you didn’t do it? We have to accept the fact that most of us are living incredibly busy lives with so much to accomplish in any given day, week, month, or year. We definitely know that we don’t want to end up on our death bed thinking about all the things we didn’t get done. This means that we can’t just rely on our ability to remember to do something, we have to learn and use a process to help us get it done. |
|
|
Bill Corbett: Posted on Monday, December 19, 2011 4:23 PM
Avoid forcing your child to say thank you this holiday season. Doing so does not help them develop the gift of gratitude, it only forces them to do something they may not want to do naturally at first. Be sure that you are providing lots of examples of how to feel grateful for things, especially when they do things for you. I watched a battle build between a parent and young child in a store when the parent tried to force the child to say thank you when another adult gave something to the child. |
|
|
Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 2:25 PM
The holidays are a good time to reflect on our children's ability to be thankful for what they have. Doing so requires us to first reflect on how well and how often we demonstrate gratitude for them. Being thankful does not come naturally for most children, as they see the world from an egotistical point of view; they are the center of the universe and everyone else encircles them and provides for them. It takes time and patience for children to develop the ability to behave in grateful ways, but also to feel being grateful for what they have. |
|
|
Posted on Saturday, November 05, 2011 5:43 PM
When a parent demands that a child apologize for something, the child rarely feels any remorse for what he or she did. Instead, they are more likely to feel anger or resentment toward the parent for forcing them to do something they don’t want to do. The ability to apologize for both adults and children requires some sense of emotional intelligence and being able to understand how the other person feels. This must be developed over time organically. One day while watching over my grandchildren playing at a park, I noticed a young lady who was supervising a few children on a merry-go-round. |
|
|
Posted on Monday, October 24, 2011 4:10 PM
Settling Children’s Nighttime Fears
When my first
child came along and I didn’t know any better, I made the fatal “dad mistake”
when it came to helping her battle the monsters in her bedroom. Unwittingly, I
would frequently grab a baseball bat and head into her room in hopes of
quelling her cries for help by standing ready to battle the imaginary monsters.
As I lay on the floor swinging at those nonexistent creatures, I remember
shouting out in a Ray Romano like voice from the television show Everyone Loves
Raymond “there, I got all those mean monsters and now they are all gone. |
|
|
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 8:45 AM
One Parenting
“Gimmick” to Avoid and What to do Instead
 The
following scene is all too common and one I’ve witnessed endless times. A toddler or preschooler is in the shopping
cart and she won’t sit down. Afraid the
child might fall out of the carriage, the parent orders her to sit down, but
the child ignores the parents demands.
Instantly, the parent “pulls out” a parenting gimmick she learned
recently and delivers the, “One…Two… ,” and those of us in the aisle wait with
baited breath for the final number THREE. |
|
|
Bill Corbett / Cooperative Kids: Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 2:20 PM
According to expert pediatricians I have spoken to, biting usually occurs when one of two conditions are met; the victim or a caregiver over react to the biting, or the child is overwhelmed emotionally and he or she reverts to primitive behaviors to attack. Caregivers in charge should not yell, punish, or act out when the bite takes place. If they have to say anything, they can say, "Biting is NOT OK," in as calm a voice as possible. The victim should receive nurturing immediately and the play activity should then be ended. If possible, the biter should be removed from the play area and or at least from that playmate, and held lovingly by another caregiver. Parents and teachers normally get angry when they experience this occurrence, but they must realize that this is a normal stage for toddlers and some preschoolers. If the biting is a result of the child feeling overwhelmed emotionally, the caregiver should learn to recognized this state of the child and watch for triggers that ignites the biting. All biting does end if the caregivers in charge handle the incidents appropriately. In his book TOUCHPOINTS (1992, Perseus Books), T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. says, "If you lose control, too, you will frighten her and reinforce the behavior." |
|
