SandraDodd.com/change
photo by Sandra Dodd
"When I stopped seeing my daughter as adversarial it changed the world for us."—Joanna Murphy
"Be prepared to be flexible and willing to change as your child gets older." —Emily Strength |
Learning is defined not just as sucking in information about something the child is interested in. Learning is also figuring out the big picture and how things connect. Figuring out how stuff works, figuring out how people work, making connections, seeing patterns. This is a mechanical, biological process. It's how humans—all learning animals really—naturally learn, how kids are born learning.
Natural learning is like a doorway. We can't change the doorway but we can change the outside world so kids can more easily reach what intrigues them.
Fix them a little tray of cheese and crackers and take it to them, wherever they are, unasked. Sit down on the floor and play with them. If nothing else, just go and give each of them a little hug and a kiss and say, "I was just thinking about how much I love you."
Okay—so that is one good, positive interaction.
Again—just change the next interaction you have with the kids. Focus on making the next interaction another one that builds up your relationship.