this piece was a must share, enjoy.

This incredibly inspiring piece was written by a very special friend of mine that I have been so blessed to have in my life for over 25 years.  I had to share, enjoy.

the tantrums are hard. they are hard for me, but so much harder for him.

so i am honored, as his mother, to sit with him, calmly, and hold the space for his hurt. i allow him to feel it all. as long as it takes for him to “feel beddah” when the hurt passes. and it always does. some sessions take 10 minutes, others take 30 — but it doesn’t matter to me.

i am chosen to be the person in his life to teach him about the dharma. about the first noble truth; that there is suffering and gratefully, an end to it.

i hold the space for him with compassion and lovingkindness. there are no lectures or scoldings when he feels these big feelings — what message would that send to him? that he isn’t allowed to feel uncomfortable? that i can’t accept his discomfort? what would he eventually do with those feelings? i dare not even guess…

i will do my best to accept this boy exactly as he is, no matter how he is feeling. i will do my best to be absolutely present for his joys and his sorrows. i will be as emotionally available for his wins as i will be for his losses, and life will promise to bring him both.

i love this boy so, so much and i will continue to thank him for trusting me to hold him. every-single-day.

xo

 

One of my MOST Favorite Blogs

.....for Creative Ideas for Children

Sunhats and Welliboots has been a brilliant blog that I have been following over the last few years.  You can find wonderful and creative ideas for children that really allow exploration and discovery.  If you like cutting edge creativity for children and imaginary things that can become realistic, you will love this blog!

Why Are There So Many Passive Parents?

Today, myself and all 4 of my children saw a 4.5 year old kicking and punching his mother at the bagel place near our house. When she KINDLY asked him to stop, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "SHUT UP!!" Then she continued to wrangle him in and squeeze him to try to controll and calm him down and was highly unsuccessful. To say the VERY least, all of my kids were shocked. The mother did NOTHING! So of course, I thought that this article from the Huffington Post was perfect. Enjoy!

I was taught a parenting lesson by an 8 year old today

its really interesting once we as parents and caregivers how just by asking the kids what they think the answers that emerge are truly telling. Great snippet from the examiner today... It goes along with the whole theme of "In What Unique Way Have You Connected With Your Children Today?"

What Way's Have You Connected With Your Child Today?

In our daily grind, we lose sight of the importance of spending quality time with our children. We are so concentrated on getting them up and dressed and fed before we send them off to school, and then when we get home to hurry and do their homework, feed them, get them in the bath and get them tucked back into bed.

Perhaps its taking the time to put your phone down, turn the TV off and just listen... What are they telling you by their behaviors? What do they really need from you? Maybe its taking a day off to just spend time with them? Send the nanny home early and come home an hour earlier? Maybe its making plans for the weekend and talking about their day and how it went.

At our house, it is mandatory to all sit for dinner as its the perfect time to chat about the day with all of our children and talk about the best and worst parts of their day. To have all of them paying attention to one another and to hear them all offer kind advice to one another is wonderful!

What can you do today and each day to connect with your child? Even if its just for a brief few minutes??

Something to think about.

...Random Acts of Kindness!

This is an awesome Blog! Rainbows Within Reach owner Debbie Clement, has wonderful ideas that have to do with everything from Music and movement to Art and teaching children positive and important behaviors. One of those ideas she posted yesterday to her blog called the Kindness Wreath. Its a wonderful idea to bring children together with their peers at school and another great way to link the Community with school, however I also thought it was a wonderful Idea to use in your home if you have multiple children, like we do!

PAINT, CUT, PASTE!!

We are LOVING this new website and wanted to share it with all of you!! The ideas are endless and the creativity is monumental! Enjoy!!

Check out this little bird's nest idea for helping our little feathered friends add to their nests!
AWESOME!

100 Ways to PAINT!!

Great Blog to follow if you have children under the age of 5. Giving the children different things to paint with, including their own bodies is important for their development in a multitude of ways from spacial, gross and fine motor, to just getting a "feeling" out, to self-esteem building. PAINT, PAINT, PAINT with your kids!!!

Giving Back to the Community with Your Children

There are many things to do in San Diego with your children to "give back" to the community. I thought I would take a few minutes and list a few ideas below:

San Diego food Bank

Sign on San Diego

San Diego YMCA

San Diego's Coalition for Children

Children learn About Bullying in a Profound Way

This was taken off one of my friends wall on my Facebook page. I thought this was a concrete and tactile example:

A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty is was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said ...............they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bully’s another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home.

~ Thanks Mary!

THANK YOU!!

We here at Seaside Nannies say THANK YOU to all of those who have served to keep our great country safe for all of us! We could not have what we have if it wasn't for the strength and unity of our military! Thank you to America's Finest!!

All Military Families receive 10% off their placement fees, always.