Family Life

Family life
     ...striving to constantly become a better version of ourselves while intertwining ourselves with the other members of  our family community. 

"The most intimate form of community is family." --Fr. Payne

Life In the Family

The Joys of Motherhood
Asking For Help

Maintaining Your Own Mental Stability

Maintaining Mental Stability-Words I learned from an LPC

Top 10 Things That Helped Me Maintain Wellness and Peace

How do You De-stress?

Our Minds Affect Our Performance

Emotional Health Resources

Parenting and Behavior

When children are born we get to take several hospital classes but even though they are helpful, it's not enough to prepare us for the journey of parenthood.  We may constantly wonder if we are doing the right thing or if we are making the right choices in guiding our children.  As the primary influences of their precious growing minds and we all want to make sure we are being the best we can be and giving them the best experiences we can provide. We are not perfect of course, so we will make mistakes, but we can learn about our mistakes, correct them, and move forward, doing the best we can. 

Behavior Basics- Just some notes from old psych and behavior management classes on understanding the basics of why humans make the choices and actions they do gives a basic understanding for parenting. So some science behind human behavior. 

Kids and Emotions

I Feel- Giving Words to Emotions
Kids Handling Stress
Visual Routine for Early Childhood
Calm-Down Spot/Time Away
Children and Accomplishments
Activities to help a child cope with a traveling parent

Kids and Responsibility

Keeping Kids in Bed in the Morning
Learning to Stay On Task
Brushing Toddlers Teeth
Teaching Responsibility in Children- Example

Faith and Spirituality

Prayer and Sacraments

Teaching Children How to Pray
Happy Baptism Day!
Teaching the Order of the Mass to Young Children
Hands on Stations of the Cross
Last Supper for Young Children
Hands on Mass


Advent
Advent Calendar
Advent Songs


Celebrations
Assumption of Mary

Why is Routine Important?

Predictability/Control/Self Confidence
Routine gives humans, and especially young children, a sense of control.  They know what is coming next.  This predictability gives them self-confidence and self-confidence is a key element in becoming an independent human being (Cline and Fay, Parenting with Love and Logic, and Seligman, The Optimistic Child).

Visuals
Having a visual aid of the routine will help the children learn it even faster and will teach them to take some responsibility and initiative for some of the tasks to be done. A picture schedule is great for children whether reading or not. Having to read words gives us an extra step so using pictures, especially photos of their own things, can be a great tool for learning and following routine. 

Trust
It also helps to establish trust between the parent and child.  Knowing that the parent sticks to the routine teaches the child that the parent is consistent and true to what they promise when they create this routine.

Behavior Charts

3 Yr Old Behavior Chart System