As a parent, it is often our unpleasant task to help our children navigate the social-emotional waters of Early Childhood. Behaviors during this time can range from calm and sweet to angry and explosive from one moment to the next. The reality for many of us is that we ourselves don’t quite feel up to the challenge of working with strong emotions. If, when the going gets tough, we can remember to ask ourselves a few questions to help bring understanding and awareness, we are better equipped to help our children.

Life presents each of us with challenges that we must navigate. The ability to cope with these challenges is established in our first years of life. It begins at first with co-regulation, the adult or caregiver provides a calm presence that the child can mirror.

In the early months and years of a child’s life, it can feel like the moments changing diapers, giving baths, dressing, and feeding your child are never-ending. They are certainly round the clock for the newborn. But, these moments don’t have to feel like a chore, instead they can be a moment of connection with your child. Fortunately, taking the time to slow down and be present with your child can help you find the warmth and joy in these moments of giving care.

These days, the world around us moves fast enough. It can be easy to get caught up in that hurried pace, but what the child needs is space and time. This is also true for adults. Taking the time to slow down benefits the whole family and home environment. Going a bit slower as you move through the day helps your child calm down and speaking more slowly give them time to hear and understand you.

The child coming into the world is meeting everything for the first time. This is especially true of their bodies and how their bodies move in and interact with the physical world around them. The child learns by doing, and sometimes failing, flailing, and falling. But, giving the child the opportunity to freely explore their bodies and their environment will help them build the confidence and competence they will need to navigate the world all throughout the rest of their lives.

Right from birth, babies are able to communicate. These first cues and signals range from subtle to undeniable. The baby is not only teaching the people around them about their needs and wishes, they are also learning about how the world and the people around them will meet and honor the needs and wishes they express.

To the newborn, the body is unfamiliar. It takes them time to get to know their bodies: what they feel like, how they work, what they can do. Allowing a baby the space and time to explore and experiment with their bodies through free motor exploration helps them get to know their bodies.

In the womb, the baby does not experience the discomforts of the outside world. Life outside the warmth and protection of the womb can be a bit of a shock. Keeping a newborn warm not only soothes the baby, but it allows the baby to focus on growth and development rather than having to work to keep warm.

Babies are not a blank slate. They come into the world with capacities, preferences, and personality. Throughout life these will change, grow, and develop… all a baby needs is the space and time to unfold in their own time and in their own way.

What do you really need to create a warm and loving space in your home for your baby? When you visit any store or website, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume and cost of things available.

In this 34 minute video, Val will guide you and your family through a gentle and comforting routine that will allow your mind and body to prepare for sleep. The only props needed are pillows and you can even practice in bed.

Remember before having kids when the fall back time change meant an extra hour of much needed sleep? Unfortunately, our little ones’ internal clocks do not change just because the time on the clock changes.

The kitchen needs safe boundaries and children need to feel like they belong there.  As with all things developmental, young children need plenty of experience being around the kitchen to get the lay of the land, and they will of course copy all our behaviors as we navigate our individual relationships with food within our homes.  

Contributor, Nancy Macalaster shares what is happening in our children’s development during the first three months of life. Otherwise known as; The Fourth Trimester.

It is possible to create a secure attachment if you breastfeed or bottle feed, sleep train or co-sleep, stay at home with your children or go to work, or wear your baby or use a stroller. Don’t get caught up in rigid ways of doing things. Instead, find what helps you to delight in your child.

Contributor Lauren Hakala shares some insight into how involve children in life in the kitchen.

Over the years we have sung and said many blessings at our table. Saying or singing a blessing when you sit down together helps everyone to slow down and center before eating. It also fosters a deep sense of gratitude.

I recently revisited some of our favourite blessings and rewrote them to emphasize our gratitude in a secular and gender-neutral way.

The kitchen needs safe boundaries and children need to feel like they belong there.  As with all things developmental, young children need plenty of experience being around the kitchen to get the lay of the land, and they will of course copy all our behaviors as we navigate our individual relationships with food within our homes.  

I first began learning about Waldorf education when I attended my first session of Waldorf Parent Child Classes. At first, I didn’t know much other than what I had experienced in those classes and I wanted to learn more. I found that one common and confusing theme was Rhythm.  It was described as an ‘in-breath and an out-breath’ an ‘expansion and contraction’, but how could I create it in real life with a toddler?  

If you're a mom, most likely you are juggling caring for your child or children, your home, perhaps a spouse and as if this isn’t enough you may also be holding down a job outside of this work. And this is the short list! One question: where in this list is there time for taking care of yourself? Mamas, can you relate? What if I told you you can have it all including the time it takes to put yourself first on this list, allowing for more ease, peace, and joy in all the other areas? Now do I have your attention?