Betsy Brown Braun

Child Development and Behavior Specialist. Parent Educator. Best Selling Author

Blog

Kids in Restaurants?

by on , under Behavior, Brat-Proofing, Child development, Communication, Discipline, Environmental influences, Expectations, Parent modeling, Parenting, Public Behavior, Toddlers

Our dinner at a local sushi restaurant was a bit earlier than we usually dine.  So I casually mentioned to my husband that we might overlap “family time” at the eatery.  But we decided that it wouldn’t be a problem; we both love kids.  Little did we realize it was the parents who would ruin our dinner out on a Friday night. This blog is not about parents who use tech devices during meals. I have previously complained about that. (https://betsybrownbraun.com/2010/10/16/join-the-family/)  Nor … [Read more...] about Kids in Restaurants?

Fathering is Interactive

by on , under Adolescents, Attachment, Communication, Environmental influences, Expectations, Learning, Parenting, Relationships

On a recent Saturday morning, my husband and I found ourselves at the local park, right in the middle of Little League play offs. Déjà vu!  It was thrilling to relive our now grown kids’ baseball days in the park—cheers echoing across the field, coaches calling out plays, dust from the infield coating our faces, the ecstasy of the hit, the agony of the dropped fly ball. The commissioner of Little League, 25 years in the role, inhaled the moment with us. It’s changed in so many ways, he then … [Read more...] about Fathering is Interactive

Knowing Your Child

by on , under Behavior, Character traits, Child development, Elementary School Children, Expectations, Learning, Parenting

It isn’t usually until the fall that I begin to hear chatter about parents wanting their kids to find their passion, who are eager to enroll their kids in specialized, extra curricular classes.  I have already weighed in on this topic, kids finding passion. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/betsy-brown-braun/finding-their-passion-rea_b_991621.html.   Eye roll. But this year the search for passion’s ignition key seems to be arriving early, right along with summer.  Children are signed up for a week … [Read more...] about Knowing Your Child

Being Neighborly

by on , under Communication, Elementary School Children, Environmental influences, Parenting, Public Behavior, Relationships, Safety, Sensitive Topics, Toddlers

Keeping your child safe, (also the name of a seminar I offer), is every parent’s top priority. And each time the internet explodes with news of another abuse to a child, parents are shaken to the core. Fear reverberates across the county, and we ask, “How did that happen?” and  “What could have been done to prevent such a nightmare?”  Such is the case with the heart-stopping news of Amanda Berry’s, Gina de Jesus’ and Michelle Knight’s  abduction and final escape from the living hell of Ariel … [Read more...] about Being Neighborly

Circle the Wagons. How children learn to express empathy.

by on , under Adolescents, Behavior, Character traits, Child development, Communication, Elementary School Children, Environmental influences, Expectations, Learning, Parent modeling, Parenting, Relationships, Sensitive Topics, Toddlers

Current research on the topic of empathy in children points to likelihood that infants as young as 6 months have the ability to demonstrate empathy.  Whether or how empathy develops as the child grows is a whole different story. Here we go again, nature vs nurture. A recent experience points to an answer. Shockingly, I recently stared cancer in the face. Even I, the healthiest person I know, did not escape the reach of the Big C.  A totally successful surgery was followed by a less successful … [Read more...] about Circle the Wagons. How children learn to express empathy.

How Will Your Kids Remember You?

by on , under Adolescents, Attachment, Character traits, Communication, Elementary School Children, Parent modeling, Parenting, Relationships, Sensitive Topics

I’ve just returned from a funeral. A friend’s husband, father of five, died way before his time was up.   And it was a five Kleenex affair. My mirror neurons, the ones that make you match the emotions of others, were hard at work. (You know when someone yawns, and you yawn? Those are your mirror neurons.) But the tsunami of tears I experienced went beyond my sympathy or empathy. They started when his children then his wife spoke about their father/husband. Each of the kids, now grown and … [Read more...] about How Will Your Kids Remember You?

Page 16 of 35
1 … 14 15 16 17 18 … 35