Most children learn in infancy that they can grab a familiar treat and put it in their mouth, and the good taste will make them happy. They use sight, smell, taste and touch to identify the treat, and movement to reach for it and to pop it in their mouth.
If you go to the library to find some resources on helping your children get over the fear of the dark; you’ll probably be hard pressed to find very much. Although the fear of the dark is said to plague millions of children, it is still a subject that most parents know very little about.
Most parents will end up willing to do just about anything after frustration and exhaustion takes over. You hear of children sleeping with their parents for weeks, if not months. Parents hire therapists to help their kids overcome such anxieties and many children are simply left to deal with their fears on their own. While most methods have their validity, some are more effective than others.
by JoAnn Deak, Ph.D.
It has become a common statement emanating from the mouths of parents: I wish my teen came with an owner’s manual! For years we have relied on the wisdom of past generations, our own upbringing and a host of books, articles and now, blogs filled with ‘expert’s’ advice.
Research then entered the picture; giving parents more data based advice. One of the earliest and best examples was the study released from Harvard about fifteen years ago, dubbed ‘raising the water level.’ In that study, children whose parents allowed them more freedom of movement and exploration during the toddler years showed a significant difference in intellectual development. This was accomplished by moving harmful objects up out of the reach of children so that they were not constantly stopped from exploring and touching and movement. The older they got and the farther they could reach or move, the higher things were raised above their grasp. In other words, ‘raising the water level’ raised the richness of their experiences, and thus enhanced their growing brains.
