Betsy Brown Braun

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

Environmental influences

The Un-Resolution

by on , under Child development, Communication, Environmental influences, Holidays, Parent modeling, Parenting, Relationships

I don’t like New Year’s resolutions. They scream failure. It doesn’t start that way. But inevitably the best laid plans… Two weeks into that new diet, that exercise routine, that tidy bedroom, and it’s back to square one and self-flagellation. Oh well, maybe next year. That doesn’t mean there aren’t many things I could or should change about myself. In fact, the list is embarrassingly long, and it would take many New Years to work my way through it, failure after failure. Recently I watched … [Read more...] about The Un-Resolution

Look At That Lady’s Nose!

by on , under Character traits, Environmental influences, Parent modeling, Parenting, Toddlers

Young children notice difference. As they try to make sense of their world, they pay attention to regularity and irregularity, what is familiar and what is not.  And there is no judgment involved, just recognition of difference. Truth be told, most people notice difference.  It’s no big deal, or it shouldn’t be, anyway.  Problems arise when difference is viewed as unacceptable.  I know many adults who could use a lesson in tolerating difference. Last week on the bike path at the beach, a … [Read more...] about Look At That Lady’s Nose!

Roaring Back at the Tiger Mom

by on , under Environmental influences, Expectations, Learning, Parenting

Was your parent one who asked, when you brought home an A-, “Why didn’t you get an A?” So many adults have a version of this tale to share. They have never forgotten it, twenty or thirty years later. Most children really do want their parents to be proud of them, proud for a variety of reasons. While we don’t actually remember the many times that they were, it is the composite of all those moments that contribute to the child feeling significant in his parents’ eyes. This is just one of the … [Read more...] about Roaring Back at the Tiger Mom

Call Off the Race

by on , under Environmental influences, Expectations, Learning, Parenting, School

For months I’ve waited for the chance to see Race to Nowhere, an incredible documentary film. The trailer was circulated around the web ages ago and caught my eye. I tell you now, run, don’t walk, to see it. (www.racetonowhere.com). That’s how important it is. When the lights came on in the theater after the Saturday matinee, I stood up and said to the other 20 people in the pathetically empty theater, “Am I the only one who is crying?” Maybe it was the ending piece about teen suicide, or … [Read more...] about Call Off the Race

Your Children Are Watching You!

by on , under Communication, Environmental influences, Parent modeling, Parenting

“Coach Accused of Punching Son”  The headline in the LA Times caught my eye.  A youth baseball coach is facing a simple assault charge for punching his 9 year old son in the face after the boy was ejected from a game.  Are they kidding? I read it again.  [Coach’s name] of suburban Harrisburg was charged after he allegedly struck his son twice with a closed fist…  I read it one more time to make sure I was reading it correctly. Yep, that’s what it said alright. What could a 9 year old possibly … [Read more...] about Your Children Are Watching You!

Leave the Babies Alone?

by on , under Attachment, Environmental influences, Parent modeling, Parenting

It’s hard not to love the movie Babies. That’s what I chose to do for my Mothers’ Day observance.  It was kind of like eating chocolate… all good! There were none of the not-so-fun parts of babies, like colic and diarrhea and sleepless nights. Just one oooo and ahhhhh after another. But the cute is not what stuck with me. Several days later, I am thinking about the stark contrast in the way the Japanese and the American babies were parented compared to the African and Mongolian babies.  The … [Read more...] about Leave the Babies Alone?

Page 12 of 13
1 … 10 11 12 13