Skip to main content

Babies Are Smarter Than We Think and Good Enough Parenting

The new documentary, The Beginning of Life, explores the impact of a child's early environment on their cognitive, social and emotional development.  Understanding these developmental needs help us care for our children better.  The Atlantic Monthly's article on the movie below covers the basics nicely.

The Complex Lives of Babies

It's impossible to be perfect, especially as a parent.  Donald Winnicott coined the term "Good Enough" Parent. Being good enough should be enough for both you and your child.

The Case for 'Good Enough' Parenting

BOOK DISCUSSION
This semester we will be reading The Whole Brain Child: Revolutionary Strategies To Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson.  We will discuss the Introduction:  Survive and Thrive, next week (beginning February 6), and Chapter 1 the following week.

Read the Introduction on-line here:

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary ... - DIY STORE チロル


QUIET OBSERVATION
In class, we will be taking time to do Quiet Observation of our children.  Quietly watching our children in action is an ideal way to learn about child development.  The principals used in class are taken from Magda Gerber's ideas of the RIE Approach.  Pick up the article in class that explains this.  Also, here is one mom's experience with it:


EXTRA
In Search of the Good Enough Mother

Comments

Diana said…
Hi Nancy, The RIE-article link is not working. It says the domain has expired.
Nancy said…
Thanks for pointing it out. The link is fixed now.

Popular posts from this blog

Free Parenting Classes with Nancy at CCSF for Fall 2024

City College of San Francisco Fall 2024 Free Parenting Class-   Semester begins on August 19, 2024 Meet Other Parents and Build Community Get Parenting Questions Answered Sing Songs Together Learn About Your Child's Development Gain Practical Parenting Tools This weekly adult-education SF City College parenting class is intended for parents to gather, learn from the material and each other while experiencing this post-pandemic parenting life stage.  Bring your child and learn while playing together.  This non-credit class with no grades is a fun opportunity not to be missed. Register online or show up to class and register on the spot. **City College also offers these courses taught by other instructors at the Ocean, Chinatown and John Adams Campus. See the  CCSF's Course Schedule. Nancy's Class Schedule Mission Campus, 1125 Valencia Street,  Room 173    0-14 Months  PARENTS AND INFANTS (CDEV 8003) 12:40-2:30  Wednesdays or Thursdays  Ch...

Building Up the Partnership Relationship For Our Own And Our Child's Health

  Pandemic Shows Children's Well-Being Rests On Parents' Psychological Health (October, 2020) means that we have to take care of ourselves, to take care of our children. It's taking us to the basics: the top three parenting practices: 1) Love and Warmth 2) Relationship Skills, and 3) Stress Management. After reading this article about parental psychological health, it made me personally want to work on my relationship with my partner. This pandemic has taken a toll on our relationship, for better and for worse.  It's healthier for my mental and physical health to have the support of my partner despite, at times, feeling sick of them. I don't need stress in my relationship, if it's coming from all other angles outside of it too. Maybe you feel the same way.  So this week I'm focusing on relationships. This article has three steps to reconnect with your partner, but I decided to just focus on one this week to work on. "Express what you cherish in your p...

Flourishing Families Practice Rituals

 Practicing family rituals help children thrive, even before the pandemic.  But they need it now more than ever, since they don't get the peer interaction that they used to have.  To make up for this deficit, they need strong family bonds that bring security and identity.  Rituals Defined:  A family ritual is a set of behaviors that is repeated and that is symbolically meaningful. Family rituals provide families with a sense of identity and belonging. Family rituals also provide a sense of continuity across generations. In other words, they are a way of transmitting family values, history and culture from one generation to the next.   Family Rituals: Why They’re Important https://raisingchildren.net.au/grown-ups/family-life/routines-rituals-relationships/family-rituals Family rituals like meals, cultural festivals, activities, and kisses, winks or handshakes give you and your children a sense of  security, identity and belonging . That’s because they’r...