Can you recall when you were a child doing something that caused your mother or father upset? Research into brain activity as it relates to stress informs us that in times of high stress, our thinking processes become confused and distorted, and our short-term memory is suppressed. With this being the case, allow me to make a point which may save both you and your child many periods of frustration.
Ask yourself these questions, “What if, when my child is acting out, he’s doing so because he is stressed out? How might I respond to him differently, in a way that will cause him less stress?” When you’ve honestly considered those questions, now consider a time when you were punished as a child, “Were you stressed in that moment? What might your parent have done differently had they been privy to that insight? How differently might the situation have turned out?” Do you really believe that twenty minute lecture is fully comprehended? We lecture our children because we were lectured to as well. Mostly, we lecture our children because we, too, become stressed out, thereby, leading us to use what we consider logic with our momentarily illogical children. If you are using logic with an illogical person, what does that make you? Stressed out!Copyright© 2006 Dr. Bryan Post. All rights reserved.
The Earliest Trauma: The Unspoken Impact of Medical Trauma
Thousands of children every year are brought into the world in traumatic ways that often times are seldom discussed or processed following the event. Children who experience traumatic events as their first events of life are typically traumatized in two ways if not more...Traditional Parenting Techniques Linked to Brain Stress
Until recently, traditional parenting techniques such as consequences, points and rewards, and spanking have been used by parents throughout the world as effective measures of correction for behaviors deemed socially inappropriate. In fact, schools continue to use all of these, including spanking, as a measure to deter problem behaviors in children. New findings from the field of neuroscience are demonstrating that such measures may in fact be detrimental to healthy brain development in children and may even be one of the major causes of the over-prescription of medication.Time-out sucks…away your child’s emotional security
One of the most commonly used parenting techniques in current day used throughout schools, homes, and day cares is “time-out”. Let’s ask the question: What makes “time-out” any different than standing with your nose in the corner, sitting on the dunce chair, being sent to your room, or having to sit in the naughty chair? Can someone please tell me the difference?