I want to cultivate…

by Peter on May 4, 2009

I read a great blog post about nurturing creativity in your child. At this stage in my daughter’s life, there’s little that I enjoy more than watching her role play with her dolls or play with legos. I’m happy for her, that she is curious and creative about her surroundings and these are qualities that I want to nurture.

Let’s say, for discussion’s sake, that you can only nurture ONE quality in your child - or ONE at a time. Which one do you focus on at whatever age your child is right now? Is it compassion or curiosity or creativity? How do you practice this in your every day life? What are your struggles in creating an environment where these things can blossom in your child?

For me, the biggest challenge is letting go of direction and expectations of any activity going a particular way. I don’t want to direct my daughter how to play or how to see the world, but I want to create a world where she is encouraged to color outside the lines and to discover her own perspectives and help her understand how her actions impact others.

What are you encouraging?

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Isn’t shelter a good thing?

by Peter on April 26, 2009

We can’t help but worry about our 21 month old being 12 or 13 years old and the types of challenges that we’ll face together. To get right to the point, what’s the difference between protecting and sheltering? We’ve discussed this and read two books that were wonderful in giving us some perspective: 1) Bringing up Geeks and 2) Hold on to your Kids. Ultimately, we want our daughter to enjoy growing up at age-appropriate intervals and we definitely want to protect her from influences that might compromise that. What ideas and inspirations do you have for doing the same?

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What to do in Norman this Summer

April 21, 2009

It’s spring-ish and we’re now officially tired of being locked up inside.  Your mission, if you choose to take it, is to come up with family-friendly suggestions for local events (that can be added to the calendar) or just things that you do in the springtime with your kids. We’ll start. Here are 3 things [...]

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Am I giving her a “daddy complex” already?

April 20, 2009

Our 21 month old daughter is going through a phase where she seems to be feeling more separation anxiety. Probably normal developmental behavior for this phase, right? I hope that we can help by being more nurturing and create a good schedule of interaction so that she feels reassured and emotionally safe.
Here’s my issue - [...]

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A Parenting Testimonial

January 24, 2009

Welcome to website for the Norman, Oklahoma chapter of Attachment Parenting International. My name is Peter and I’m a member (not a leader) of the Norman API group. My wife and I joined in 2007 shortly after the birth of our daughter (featured above). When our new baby came, we looked everywhere, but it turns out that [...]

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