As part of my research project to evaluate a parenting program, I first had to study OTHER well established parenting programs to get an idea of how I was going to plan my project. What started as an innocent little hunt to find information on parenting programs, ended up in me writing a critical review […] The post Looking for a Parenting Support Course? What I learned from a year of studying parenting programs. appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

I read a meme the other day that cracked me up. Child expert: “Children will model the behaviour that they see.” Me: “False. They have seen me sleep, they do not sleep.” Here’s the original link to the meme. Some child experts advise to parents, that if we just modify our behaviours, then our children […] The post No, Children Don’t Always Model Their Parent’s Behaviours. appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

A common woe in the parenting world you hear about are ‘power struggles‘. Let’s use getting in the shower (willingly) as an example. The child resists. Parents dig their heels in. The child digs THEIR heels in. And the struggle goes on and on. Old fashioned advice is to give them a smack. The ‘newer’ […] The post A Deeper Understanding of ‘Power Struggles’ appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

“When do your kids go to bed?”, I get asked frequently. “Well, usually, we all just go to bed together, around 8 or 9 o’clock.” This conversation usually raises some eyebrows! But, ever since my oldest was a baby, my family has slept in the same room. My kids have never had to go to […] The post Family Bedtime: The Oldest Sleep ‘Trick’ in the Books appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t have a TV, and I rarely let my older kids watch movies. Nevertheless, over the past few months, the amount of screen viewing (iPhone) kept gradually increasing, until one day, I realised that the older kids (8 and 6) were spending over an hour and sometimes two hours […] The post A Big List of What Happened When I Banned Screens For a Week appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

Kids cry. Some of them seem to cry a lot more than others. And, their crying can be super annoying to us! Especially when we feel like they’re crying over nothing. Or, if we think they’re crying to get attention. Or, if we think they’re crying just to get their way. But, here’s the truth, […] The post There Are No Such Thing As Crocodile Tears appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

I heard a knock at the door… it was an unannounced visit from a lady who lives in our building. And, my house was a MESS!!! My 5 year old daughter has recently been on a rampage of creating things using BIG pieces of paper and sticky tape. The photo above is what it looks […] The post Why I Don’t Make My Kids Clean Up After Every Activity appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

When people see me swinging my babies over my hip, so I can strap them into a baby carrier, they sometimes look a bit worried that I might drop my kids! If only they could know that I’ve done this motion probably thousands of times. Here are two ways to put a baby or toddler […] The post How To Safely Put a Baby or Toddler On Your Back in a Baby Carrier appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

My husband and I were talking about kids and screens. He’s eighteen years older than me. I told him, “You know, I don’t think kids are going to be obsessed with screens and social media when they’re older, because even I’m getting sick of them.” He said, “, Of course, they won’t. There will be […] The post Society’s Screen and Social Media Obsession: It Will Change appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more

We were sitting at the table, eating dinner, when my 19 month old son initiated a game that he’s done many times before. He raised his arms up, then we all raised our arms up. Then, he clapped his hands, and we all clapped our hands. The raised his arms, we copied. It was such […] The post Power Reversal Games: Helping Kids to Connect and Cooperate appeared first on Katesurfs.com ..read more