The dangers of stranger danger
Do you tell your children not to talk to strangers? Do you worry the stranger danger message could make them unfriendly and isolated?
Currently browsing tag
parenting
Expectations
Chris pointed out to me recently that I was sometimes having unrealistic expectations of Eleanor. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how I’ve forgotten a lot of what it was like to have a two-year-old and, even when I remember how Rosemary used to behave, that doesn’t really guarantee that Eleanor …
Independent streak
We’re a bit shell-shocked here at the moment. Eleanor has been, generally, a pretty happy, polite and remarkably compliant child. We’ve had problems, of course – sleep problems, tantrums and breastfeeding issues – but nothing major or unusual. Of course, there’s nothing particularly unusual happening now, but it’s still come …
Chasing the shadows
I had a beautiful afternoon with Eleanor today. It took me back to Tuesdays with Rosemary when she was at nursery school; when life wasn’t such a rush and a juggle. Eleanor started nursery school a couple of weeks ago, and we had been trying out my mum picking her …
Big sister: big role model: big responsibility
One of the most commonest phrases you’ll hear me and Chris uttering to Rosemary (not quite as common as ‘Just sit still for a few minutes!’) is ‘Remember you’re a role model to Eleanor.’ Eleanor copies pretty much everything Rosemary does, whether it’s good or bad, whether it’s funny or …
Starting nursery school
Eleanor is starting nursery school tomorrow. She’s starting a couple of months earlier than Rosemary did, because the nursery school has changed the age when they start taking children (from 2 years 3 months, to 2 years). She is very excited about it and is talking about doing ‘painting and …
How to get children to try new food?
I always think of Rosemary as having a very wide taste when it comes to food, however, it’s becoming apparent that this isn’t really the case. She has a number of meals that she really, really likes, a number that she’ll eat and then she has the increasingly frustrating refusal …
Words can hurt
We like words. Chris studied linguistics. I studied languages. We’ve both spent considerable periods as editors. We read. A lot. We’re also very interested in how children learn language and build vocabulary. And how the meanings of words can change over time. And how the words people use to talk …
Why is a letter and you should know better
Eleanor has started asking ‘Why?’ It took me a while to register that she was doing so and seemingly actually asking ‘Why?’ rather than just repeating a word she’s heard Rosemary use. ‘We need to hurry up and get dressed.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because we need to go and meet Granny.’ …
Making mealtime fun
We’re quite lucky to have two children who aren’t overly fussy about their food. We sometimes get frustrated with Rosemary’s changing tastes, but she has a wide experience of food and will try most things – though her most common epithet is ‘Yucky’. She has recently started clarifying that something …
