May Gentle Discipline Fair

Welcome to the May Gentle Discipline Fair.  Learn more about the GD Fair here.  Did you see a post (or write one) that should be in this list?  Submit it for next month’s Fair here!  Please read my disclaimers[1. I try to read every post I include in the GD Fair.  ALL of the posts I’ve at least skimmed for general gist for the purposes of assigning keywords for the Index and summaries for the fairs.  However, time definitely limits me in doing a deep study of each post.  If you find a post that you feel does not adhere to gentle parenting philosophy please let me know here.]. Ok, let’s get right to it.

How to Discipline Your Child with Kindness and Respect through Logical and Natural Consequences – Deb at Living Montissori Now tells you how to teach respect through showing respect to your child.

Two bloggers this month were talking about eating out with kids.  This was timely in response to Better Homes and Gardens (since retracted) faux pax in saying “thou shalt not breastfeed at the table”.  Dr. Momma talks about the BH&G article in Better Homes and Gardens’ 10 Commandments of Dining With Kids and Michelle at the Parent Vortex offers  Ten Tips For Dining Out With Kids that are very practical.

While you are over at The Parent Vortex don’t forget to check out New Research on Cortisol, Infant Brain Development and The Morality of Babies where Michelle breaks the astounding news that “Babies are Human Beings Who Prefer When Other Humans Are Kind to Them!”

Zoey at Good Goog’s daughter has reached the Age of No but she’s not sweating it because she knows this is an important step in her daughter’s independence – The Toddler and the Age of No

I recently found the blog by Carrie at The Parenting Passageway which posts frequently about gentle parenting so, I’d like to point you to several great posts that focus on many common discipline issues such as yelling, slapping, whining, anger, forgiveness, language and inner discipline.  I won’t expound on each but her blog is one to follow.
Parental Anger and Forgiveness of Children
Changing Our Parenting Language
What If Gentle Discipline Doesn’t Work?
How Do I Instill Inner Discipline In My Child? and five qualities of self-directed children…
Children Who Slap Faces And Other Fun Behaviors
Yelling in Parenting
Patience, Parenting and Verbal Spillage
whining…
mixed messages from permissive parenting…
Love Is A Verb

Dionna at Code Name: Mama had several posts in May with great advice for parents of toddlers.  First she tackles two seemingly simple but oft-fraught with conflict tasks: Gentle Parenting Ideas: Toddlers and Brushing Teeth and  Gentle Parenting Ideas: Getting Into the Car Seat.  Then, on Attachment Parenting International Speaks blog she talks about dealing with tantrums in Riders on the Tantrum Storm (Part 1) and Riders on the Tantrum Storm (Part 2).

Growing with Graces talks about modeling gentle parenting behavior for her husband in No rules without reason.

Karianna at Caffeinated Catholic Mama notices this about Gentle Discipline,

If a child hits a child, it’s called aggression.
If a child hits an adult, it’s called defiance.
If an adult hits an adult, it’s called assault.
If an adult hits a child, it’s called discipline.

The Challenges of Communicating Needs and Emotions by Acacia at Be Present Mama focuses on how the parent needs to be able to gently express their emotions to their children.  On the flip side, TopHat at The Bee In Your Bonnet talks about redirecting children’s anger in Anger Management.  I also really liked her post On Being Zen in parenting and in life.

Can an 8 month old be “bad”?  Is babyproofing your house a bad parenting technique?  Maman A Droit looks at the issue in Baby Jail and Connie at Crunchy Grandma looks at the concept of spoiling in Gentle Grand-parenting.

Krista at This Inspired Life is sharing points from her recent reading of Connection Parenting by Pam Leo in connection parenting

Holistic Mama has a highly physical and tactile child and is exploring options to stop hitting in unlearnt hitting.

Mommy Bee at Musings of a Mommy Bee shares some wisdom from Kids are Worth It by Barbara Coloroso including a discussion of compliance vs. cooperation.  From the same book she discusses Telling vs Tattling.

Sam at BabyReady talks about balancing instruction with self learning at Letting Our Children Learn to Play In The Park where she has this insight, “the more we tell our children to “be careful” the more we end up giving them instruction instead of encouraging them to learn themselves.”

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