You are your child¡¯s first playmate, but that doesn¡¯t have to be a cause for stress
A mother soothing her crying toddler offers a live demonstration of how to create a safe space ¨C a chance to reinforce calm in what might seem like chaos to the young child. When a father builds a sandcastle with his child, he is modelling sharing - a beautiful back-and-forth engagement that is a bedrock for learning. Parents travel through these mini engagements multiple times per hour, rarely mindful (understandably!) of the lasting impact that they are having on their child¡¯s life trajectories.
A sensitive and joyful parent is a critical piece of a child¡¯s ecosystem. Yet the current culture puts constant pressure on parents to find new opportunities and activities to prepare their child for academic success. Today, a simple Google search of ¡®parenting books¡¯ yields over 200 million results! And that count does not even include the handouts, blogs, newsletters, advice columns and parenting sections online. Telling parents what to do has become a multibillion-dollar industry, with investors ¡®capitalizing¡¯ on the ¡®economic opportunity¡¯ offered by millennial parents.
Our research suggests that as a caring and responsive parent you are very likely already doing the right things to nurture your children¡¯s 21st century skills and boost their wellbeing.
