 By Natascha Jaffa Sibling relationships are so underrated! Most--if not all--research in psychology, family science, and social work has been focused on the relationships between parents and their children over the years, but it's excluding one very important aspect of a child's life: the relationships with their sibling(s). 💜 Siblings often confide in one another instead of their parents 💜 Siblings have the longest running relationships in our lives 💜 Evidence shows these relationships are key to promoting academic achievement. positive social behavior, and empathy (Sidhu, 2019). So how can you encourage your own relationships with your siblings and that of your children's? I'm so glad you asked! 1. Be on the lookout for sibling bullying and address it right away. This may include setting a boundary with your own sibling or disciplining one of your kids for something they said to the other. 2. Never compare siblings to one another. Comparison only builds animosity between siblings and promotes low self-worth. Mentally catch yourself before uttering the words, "Why can't you be more like your brother/sister?" Was this common in your household growing up? Perhaps you and your siblings need to have a conversation and expose those wounds to one another to start the healing. 3. Create opportunities for siblings to work together. Have them make dinner together or build a fort. Have big living room sleepovers or family game nights. Make being siblings fun rather than an inconvenience or a call for attention. Happy memories outlast the annoying ones! Haven't seen your sibling in a while? Get some one-on-one time in this month. ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE?! Print out this pack of 4 printables provided by Anne Willa, and your whole family can upgrade their kindness skills as a fun game!
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By Laura Breksa, Personal Pursuits CouncilMom NOTE: This is the third in a series of related blog posts -- as we post them, we will link them together. The first one is about the first S in the S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym and can be found here. The second one is about the P in the S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym and can be found here. Mom-Brain gets a bad reputation -- we've all experienced it: the fog, the stupor, the yearning for more than Sesame Street-level learning! Here at Momivate, we believe in your Mom-Brain -- that motherhood can actually cause you to spark new dendrites by the second, as you look for ways to solve the many mysteries and conundrums inherent in raising children! Here are some ways to set Intellectual goals (that's the 'I' in our S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym) and feed your brain! INTELLECTUAL Long car trips and your kids are itty-bitties? Listen to an audio book or podcast on a subject you want to learn about. Learn along with your children at science museums! The hands-on displays aren’t always for little hands. And your enthusiasm for the exhibits will be contagious -- your children will soon catch on that learning is exciting, not a chore! Take an online class. There are many free classes, it will be a great example for your kids to see you taking time to learn, and they can sit on your lap, sit next to you while you are learning, and you can even teach them what you are learning. SEE https://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses Do you have a friend with children with a skill you want to learn, and she wants to learn something you can do? Sounds like an excellent skills-swap playdate! If you don’t know how to play an instrument, think outside the box here, I’m not talking about an instrument that you find in an orchestra, or that you must master. Be average on an unusual instrument! The power is in the practice! Learning to play an instrument, "may be one of the best ways to help keep the brain healthy. ‘It engages every major part of the entire nervous system,’ said John Dani, PhD, chair of Neuroscience at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.” (Penn Medicine News, pennmedicine.org/news). Consider: Steel Tongue Drum Musical Spoons Wish Well Tibetan Singing Bowl Gecko Travel Cajon Deekec Zelda Ocarina Newlam Kalima Thumb Piano Cuecutie Lyre Harp LP Vibra-Slap Learn a vocabulary word each day about a subject you are interested in, not something you think you should care about, but what you want to learn. You could even choose to learn a vocabulary word in another language! By Laura Breksa, Personal Pursuits CouncilMom NOTE: This is the second in a series of related blog posts -- as we post them, we will link them together. The first one is about the first S in the S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym and can be found here. This is the second, and the third is for the I in S.P.I.C.E.S. : intellectual goals! Read it here. Let's be honest, motherhood is a challenge to our physical well-being. Whether because we are growing a baby in our womb or we just don't have time to hit the gym, physical goals seem to get knocked off the stove altogether (not just put on the back burner!) Here's a few ideas, though, to change our mindset about how motherhood COULD become the means by which we get some physical fitness accomplished even amidst meeting the needs of our toddlers or teens. Remember to check with a health professional before doing any exercises! The following are pointers, not prescriptions!
 Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash |
