Hello!
Welcome to Circle Time: Perspectives from an Early Childhood Professional Grandma. The grandma in question here, is my mother, JaNeva. This is ShaeLynn, JaNeva's daughter. I'd like to call myself the "manager" of this blog. When I asked mom to write a blog, she basically agreed with strings attached--I had to do the actual posting, as well as help her come up with topics. As my son (currently 11 months, exactly) grows, I find that I really need the advice I imagine on this blog, and I'm looking forward to shaping it with my mom as he develops.
The topics on this blog are going to be driven primarily by its readers. If that ends up being only me, well then I've lucked into an awesome way to get high quality parenting tips from a source I trust and love. But if you have questions or want advice, please post in the comments, and we'll do our best to respond quickly to your concerns.
My mom often comments on how readily available advice is to parents in my generation. She says, "I can't imagine what it's like to be a parent with the internet!" I can't imagine what it's like to be a parent without the internet! But there's a trend I've seen in many parenting circles online--they are often exclusive, and driven by catchy terms like "attachment parenting" or "sleep training". These terms typically define what YOU as the parent, are supposed to do. You are supposed to wear your baby (or not), you're supposed to spank your child (or not), you're supposed to potty train your child (or not), and on and on it goes. What I believe makes my mom's approach so valuable is that she starts with your child--what skills are you trying to foster in your child? What values, what desirable behaviors? Also, after 20 years in the classroom, she understands that what works for one child and/or
family may not work for another. Each child is unique, each family
dynamic is unique, and she does not believe in "cookie-cutter' answers.
Tune in soon for some of these topics:
1. Air travel that everybody enjoys! (I'm demanding this first--I recently sat on an airplane where my son slept... but the 2 year old behind us had one meltdown after another. I glimpsed a possible future, and mom's going to help us avoid it!)
2. Educational toys--what does that mean exactly?
3. Stop your child's biting (or hitting, or swearing... etc)
