Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

New Kid by Friday- part 4

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Over the last three months I’ve been sharing some insights from Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Have a New Kid by Friday. In February I reviewed the three pillars of a child’s self worth: Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence. Then in March I reviewed the first of the top 3 long-term concerns of parents, Attitude.

In April I reviewed what he had to say about Character. Of course most of his book is about the third concern, Behavior. It is written for parents with children of all ages; much of the book is beyond the scope of babies and toddlers. Laying good foundations of discipline is so important, though, that I want to take some time to talk about some of his specific approaches.

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Baby Signing

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Have you heard about baby sign language? Have you tried any signs with your baby?

I’ve been doing some research on sign language for babies and am intrigued by what I’ve read.

Babies desire to communicate their needs and wants, yet they lack the ability to do so clearly because the production of speech lags behind cognitive ability in the first months and years of life.

Speaking involves so many complicated skills. Babies must learn proper placement of the tongue, how to form the lips, to use the nasal passages, to control the vocal chords, and how to regulate their breath. All of this besides associating certain words with their meaning.

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New Kid by Friday- part 3

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Over the last two months I’ve been sharing some insights form Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Have a New Kid by Friday. In February I reviewed the three pillars of a child’s self worth: Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence. Then in March I reviewed the first of the top 3 long-term concerns of parents, Attitude. I planned to talk about Behavior this month, but since I’d like to expand on that topic over several months, I’m going to skip forward and cover Character this month.

  • Here are some things Dr. Leman says about character: Character is “who you are when no one is looking.”
  • “Character is not only everything, it’s the only thing in the long run. It is the foundation for your attitude and behavior.”
  • “Character doesn’t mean you are perfect. It means you have an inner standard that cares about others more than yourself.”

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Healthy Gender Development

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There is growing concern among parents about raising our children with strong gender identification in a world where homosexuality on the increase. These are a few resources on the major issues having to do with gender development and the contributing factors in homosexuality. More articles will be written on this topic in the future.

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New Kid by Friday- part 2

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Last month I introduced some insights from Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Have a New Kid by Friday. In that letter I talked about his three pillars of your child’s self worth; Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence. Our parenting during our child’s infancy through preschool years sets the foundations for self worth. We show our acceptance and love even when we disapprove of his behaviour. Belonging to us, our family, and community is established as we treat him as special and teach him that he has responsibilities because he belongs to us. And we encourage his competence in tackling and succeeding in new tasks.

Another section of Dr. Leman’s book highlights the top 3 long-term concerns of parents: Attitude, Behaviour, and Character. For those of you who have infants, these concerns may sound like they are far off. Let me assure you, the time will pass all too quickly and you will be wanting a refresher on how to shape a child’s attitude, behaviour, and character.

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