Coping with divorce? When today’s guest, Kristen Zuzek Volk, found Hand in Hand, she’d almost written off a loving relationship with her daughter. After a recent divorce, her two kids were screaming, crying and acting
Want to increase your child’s co-operation? Have them listen more? Reduce clinginess? Sometimes special time can feel like the magic balm in parenting. It can: Boost your child’s confidence. It can build their resilience. It can
A guest post by Irina Nichifiriuc Read this post in Romanian In our house, I faced a series of “battles” and obstacles every night as the day wore on towards bedtime. With three children, I
How much attention does your child need? Have you ever heard the phrase “You can’t pour from an empty cup?” When we spend time with our children, do Special Time, listen and care for them,
I was on Special Time duty one particular weekend and had done 20 minutes with each of my younger two children. Next, it was my oldest son’s turn. He’s 7. Originally he’d said he wanted
As parents, we all strive for “those days.” Those days when we all get up and eat breakfast together. Those days when everyone’s bags are packed and it’s smiles all the way to school. Those
Do you make time for Special Time? Don’t fret if you don’t…yet! We know that spending just a few minutes putting aside distractions and letting children lead play can boost our relationship with them, but
It’s 2018 already! Happy New Year! This week’s podcast has a New Year’s flavor as Elle and Abigail talk about bringing change to yours and your family’s lives. What is the secret to making habits
It’s the season to be…making rituals? http://traffic.libsyn.com/handinhandparenting/Ep_9_Rituals_POST.mp3 What is a Ritual Anyway? Elle asks this week are rituals the same as routine and is implementing them just a lot of extra work? Abigail mentions some family
We long to relax and enjoy each other’s company on vacation, but in new surroundings, after long journeys, children can feel out of sorts and disconnected, and often meltdown on holidays. Allocating one-on-one time builds
My partner’s son has to do one hour of eye exercises each night. Needless to say they are the last thing he wants to do. To give my partner a break from the limit setting
As little as five or 10 minutes following a child in play can transform many of the big challenges parents face raising little ones today. If you want to set a limit on behavior, transition
It’s the beginning of fall and as surely as leaves will drop, so will the homework. Pages and pages of it. Sometimes whole binders worth. Homework can be the source of many arguments, and I wanted
Early one morning, my seven-year-old daughter began to be aggressive with her younger brother. She insisted that he play with her—and on her terms. He did his best to tell her no, but he wasn’t
When my son was five years old, he asked to buy a set of army figures at the toy store. It was a set of about 40 small plastic figures, in different poses with different
My 6 year old got his leg injured while he was practising sports. Unfortunately, the injury happened just before a school sport’s event and he was not able to fully take part in it, although
Your child will have big feelings when a special holiday or birthday comes up. It’s one of the phenomena you can set your clock by. We parents wish the universe were governed by forces
Trauma can really undermine a children’s ability to thrive at school, affecting relationships and making it hard for them to follow school structure and directives. Dealing with these behaviours can be taxing on teaching staff, but