Parenting

Patti’s New Year’s Resolutions

| Patti Webb

Mary and I were in Las Vegas in February 2019 when she told me she wanted to start an OT blog. We talked about content and social media, and how the blog would combine her love of science with her training and with modern parenting. By November, she was ready to pull the trigger. 

I was happy to join her on the project behind the scenes, but becoming a contributor in July has been an awesome collaboration. I knew I approached parenting in a different way, but this blog has helped me explore how being a good parent also helps me be a stronger partner and a better role model for my kids. 

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Mary’s New Year’s Resolutions

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It’s been roughly 365 days since we launched Child(ish) Advice and I must say how thankful I am to all of you who have read our content, shared your stories, and sent us support and love. I didn’t think sharing my OT knowledge would make such an impact, but I am so happy it did.

As Child(ish) Advice expands into other areas of child development and parenting, we are happy know that our “advice” has helped you and your families, and we hope to continue to put out useful, meaningful content.

With that said, the new year has us contemplating our goals and aspirations as parents. As we research and write, we can’t help but reflect on the kind of parents we want to be. This past year, I have learned what works and what doesn’t for my kids, as well as what sounds great on paper but doesn’t exactly translate well into practice. For me to be a better parent, I have to do better for myself.

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How To Survive Family Holidays

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

You know at the beginning of Home Alone, where they have all these people from three different branches of the family, stuck in one house right before a holiday flight? That’s how we always picture crazy Christmas. Loud yelling, no one knows what’s going on, the littlest kid drinking a ton of Pepsi and wetting the bed. Let’s not get started on dealing with Uncle Frank….

As much as we want to create a magical winter wonderland for our whole family, it can be one of the biggest challenges with younger kids in tow. The whole season just pulses with sensory overload, and sometimes extended family can be more of a bad influence than a helping hand. Whether you are traveling to see family or if family is traveling to see you, here are Mary and Patti’s tips for parents on surviving the holiday season.

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Child(ish) Reads: Unselfie

| Patti Webb

There are a ton of articles about the major differences between Boomers, Millennials, Gen X and Gen Z; and how social media and screen time have driven huge cultural and sociological shifts. Now that Millennials are becoming parents, we have a very real fear: Fear that our kids could grow up to be really self-centered a**holes.

I think our most recent election is a prime example of how empathy influences our actions, our representatives, and our policies moving forward.

Here are some quick facts:

  1. Empathy means a person can recognize, understand and express their own emotions, as well as be attune to the emotions of others. Not just having touchy-feely feelings.
  2. Girls are more likely to be empathetic because parents talk about feelings more openly with daughters than with sons.
  3. Many people blame social media and screens for creating narcissistic zombie kids, but there is much, much more to the rising empathy gap.

Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World
By Michele Borba, Ed.D.

Instead of giving you a play-by-play review of this great book, I want to talk about the things that stuck with me; the great content that not only will help me raise my daughters for the future, but also can shed light on many adults in the present.

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Little Hosts 101

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Thanksgiving is the kickoff to the holiday season, which means family, food, and a bit of frenzy. It’s easy to get caught up in the madness, but a method to ease the chaos is recruiting your little ones to be your helpers.

Just like household chores, children observe in order to understand their environment. In turn, they pretend play, imitating the actions of what they see, including holiday tasks. Take this willingness as an opportunity for your kids to get involved, and even feel a little special. Our kids love to sit on the counter and watch us cook everyday dinner. Can you imagine if we were doing some super-fancy cooking for a party of their favorite family members?

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