Bedtime Fears: Two Games to Help
Separating at bedtime has been a struggle for our 2-year-old for quite some time and I have done a lot of Staylistening with him on this emotional project of his. But lately, he
Category: Playlistening
How To Reconnect with your Child After Time Apart
Several times when I come to pick up my sons after they’ve spent an afternoon with my mother, one will look at me severely and tell me “Oh! Not you!” Through Hand in Hand Parenting I’ve
How To Help Your Child Overcome Fear Using Play
By Andrea McCracken My daughter was 7, nearly 8, and developing more concerns about the world. At bedtime, she would lay quietly and think about the mysteries of illnesses, aliens and other potentially scary things. They
Play with My Preteen: Relieving Pre-Performance Jitters
My preteen son is preparing for his first leading role in a school play, and the pre-performance nerves are really starting to kick in now. I decided that an opportunity to laugh off some of
Play Away School Stress?
By Andrea McCracken When my 5-year-old started kindergarten, she would come home from school day a tightly wound and prone to crying. She seemed to be letting all her frustrations and bad feelings
5 Ways To Play Away Parenting Struggles
Giggles and laughter are stress dissolvers, making play a great way to tackle many everyday parenting challenges. In her book Listen: Five Tools To Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges, Patty Wipfler lists Playlistening as one
How Can I Help my Shy Kid Get to Class?
Q: Dear Hand in Hand Parenting My five year old girl acts shy at school. Although she knows everyone in her class, and they’ve been patient and warm with her, she can never
What is Hand in Hand Parenting’s Playlistening tool?
What is Hand in Hand Parenting?: Day 5 Play is the safe cradle in which our children experiment, express themselves, and explore their world. Whatever the activity, your child is playing when her actions are
How To Connect with your Quieter Child Through Play
Does one of your children tend to get heard more than the other? Perhaps one is older and more dominant, and younger eager to please. Perhaps one is extrovert, always talking, and the other is
One Genius Game to Combat “I’m Tired”
You may have noticed that when children say “I’m tired,” they may not always mean it. Sometimes, “I’m tired” actually means “I’m starting to feel some uncomfortable feelings, and I can’t think of any other
A Bedtime Game Can Help When You Want Your Child To Sleep Solo
You may have dreamed that co-sleeping would be cozy but then found yourself tossing and turning, or you may have dreaded it and still ended up with tiny toes tickling your nostrils each morning. If
Ever felt ‘Not Good Enough’?’
A guest post by Skye Munro of Nurturing Connections Recently I had the privilege of sharing my passion for connected parenting with over 200 Early Childhood professionals. But right until they entered the
Power Play: What to Do When Play Turns Bad
Children’s playful giggles and laughter can soon boil over and frenzied excitement erupts into power struggles, arguments and aggression. So how can you step in safely to diffuse a play situation headed south? Hand in Hand’s Heidi Grainger
15 Playful Ways To Get Children To Walk
Need help getting anywhere with a little one in tow? When our kids first learn to walk, they may be so determined it’s hard to stop them. However once the novelty wears off there may be moments when we’re on our way somewhere and they get grumpy, whiny and don’t want to walk on there own.
Why You Should Indulge Your Child’s Attention Seeking
One mainstream response to ”attention seeking behaviour” is to ignore the bad and praise the good. But this doesn’t address the underlying upset feelings that are always beneath our child’s off-track behaviour.
How Children Heal Fear Through Play
Our parenting will never be perfect. Our children will inherit some hurts and fears from us. But play is a wonderful way children can make sense of their world, and tell stories. When we can play with them we can pick up on what makes them laugh, and help them release fear and upset.
15 Playful Tips To Help ‘Shy’ Children Shine
a guest post from Kate Orson, a Hand in Hand Parent Shyness is a label, often put on children, but actually it’s just a set of reactions to a certain situation. Who has a
The Benefits of Laughter at Bedtime
Contrary to popular belief we should actually wind our children up before sleep! Roughhousing, and lots of giggles, can help children release any stress or remaining tension from the day. It also helps to build the connection that children need to feel safe to separate from us and fall asleep.