[{"id":50625,"date":"2020-01-14T03:44:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T03:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50625"},"modified":"2020-01-14T03:44:49","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T03:44:49","slug":"why-wont-my-kids-play-outside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/","title":{"rendered":"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Nature-based-play-1.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″]
\n[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ _i=”1″ _address=”1″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” hover_enabled=”0″ _i=”1″ _address=”1.0.0.1″]<\/p>\n

What do we do when children don\u2019t want to play outside? Some kids just seem to prefer making a mess inside (or staring at devices) rather than exploring the great outdoors.<\/b><\/h2>\n

\n<\/h2>\n

It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The habitual way of living gets entrenched (although kids seem to resist healthy habits around eating, cleaning teeth and going to bed). If playing inside has been a frequent occurrence in your house, it becomes like the social norm of your family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Changing social norms can happen however it takes some time and effort.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I would suggest first, come clean as parents and have a family meeting expressing your concerns that the kids have too much time inside, which is seeing the house as a playground. Mention that it\u2019s healthy for them to play outside in the fresh air (I would avoid mentioning the risks of obesity, poor self-regulation and developmental delays that come with too much time on screens, or being sedentary \u2013 heck they are just kids.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then I\u2019d ask for suggestions on how to \u2018spark\u2019 up the outside play possibilities. Some creative kids will come up with great ideas while others may just roll their eyes.<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

When change happens too much too quickly it\u2019s normal for everyone to push back. So start in small ways \u2013 maybe as a family have a picnic or high tea outside and also invite extra kids over to double the fun. Given your kids may be used to being around you inside, they may need your presence outside, while they are in transition. Maybe do some weeding, hang out washing, peel the potatoes for dinner or have your cuppa while somewhere nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first foray needs to be something really attention-grabbing, almost guaranteed to be a winner \u2013 so think really engaging, messy, noisy or silly.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Depending on age it could be a version of going on a \u2018bear hunt\u2019, a treasure hunt, a slip n slide, a water balloon fight, or having loads of soft balls around, set up a shop or any real experience where they pretend to be grownups.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essentially you need to create an attention-seeking experience that trumps being inside, as kids are wired to create play opportunities that make the neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When they have equipment that is already built like cubbies or forts, they are unable to move them around and sometimes this can stifle their creativity and enjoyment. Having freedom to move, play and create are the real secrets to engaging play anywhere. Start thinking along the line of \u2018loose parts\u2019 play theory, which might involve bringing old tyres, ropes, bamboo sticks, old sheets, river rocks, lengths of poly pipe, bits of wood or any number of treasures into the back yard \u2026 trust me this will magically draw children outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Old sinks make easy mud kitchens, planks of wood become construction sites and getting piles of sand or dry mud can also be just too enticing. Building teepees and creating racetracks or jumps for bikes can also lure children, even older kids outdoors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cardboard boxes can be amazingly successful, as they can become almost anything. Making a city can take weeks and can have your kids wanting to bring friends and family over to admire their amazing work.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essentially to get your kids outside you need to progressively \u2018nudge\u2019 them with love and enthusiasm. As they break the habit of indoor play, they\u2019ll start to embrace the outdoors.<\/b><\/h4>\n

\n<\/h2>\n

Source: Dent, M. (2018, February 23). Why won\u2019t children play outside?. <\/span>Retrieved from<\/span><\/i> https:\/\/www.maggiedent.com\/blog\/wont-kids-play-outside\/<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” _i=”1″ _address=”1.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” border_style_all=”none” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0.0″]
\n[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.23″ form_field_background_color=”#ffffff” header_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” animation_style=”slide” border_width_all=”2px” form_background_color=”#ffffff” global_module=”50465″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ _i=”1″ _address=”1.1.0.1″][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Nature-based-play-1.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-for-parents"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy won\u2019t my kids play outside? | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside? | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T03:44:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T03:44:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"headline\":\"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T03:44:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-14T03:44:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1061,\"articleSection\":[\"Tips For Parents\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside? | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T03:44:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-14T03:44:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"description\":\"It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\",\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Savage\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/mark\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside? | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside? | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2020-01-14T03:44:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-14T03:44:49+00:00","author":"Mark Savage","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Savage","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Savage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"headline":"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside?","datePublished":"2020-01-14T03:44:44+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-14T03:44:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/"},"wordCount":1061,"articleSection":["Tips For Parents"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/","name":"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside? | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-01-14T03:44:44+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-14T03:44:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"description":"It used to be easy for our parents to just \u2018kick us out\u2019 to play because we were in the habit of playing outside. We are all creatures of habit and our kids are no different.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/why-wont-my-kids-play-outside\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why won\u2019t my kids play outside?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1","name":"Mark Savage","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Savage"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/mark\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50619,"date":"2020-01-14T01:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T01:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50619"},"modified":"2020-01-14T01:11:04","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T01:11:04","slug":"settling-into-a-new-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Settling Into A New Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/img-001.png” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Settling Into A New Environment <\/span><\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ _i=”1″ _address=”1″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” hover_enabled=”0″ _i=”1″ _address=”1.0.0.1″]<\/p>\n<h2><b>You\u2019ve just started your child in care. It\u2019s the first day however things go wrong and your child protests loudly when it\u2019s time for you to say goodbye.<\/b><\/h2>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care arrangement whether it be a new centre, new room or new educator but there is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free as possible for you and your child.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><b>Here are a few tips to help your child settle in to a new environment:<\/b><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prepare your child by talking to them in advance, tell them where they will be going, what they will be doing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take your child to visit the provider on a few occasions before you need to leave them for the first time. Show your child where they will be going. Answer any questions they may have openly and honestly reassuring them that everything is OK.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of time so that you can help your child to settle into an activity before you have to head off to work. They are less likely to protest your departure if they are having fun and involved with an activity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Familiar objects such as a favourite stuffed animal or security blanket should be on hand. Your child may find it easier to adjust to a particular care situation having a favoured toy to hold when feeling anxious or upset.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try and allocate enough time so you aren\u2019t rushing to sign in and settle your child into an activity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pay attention to your own body language when saying good bye to your child. If you\u2019re feeling uncertain about the new arrangement you could be conveying some of your own anxiety to your child.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resist the temptation to sneak out the door while your child isn\u2019t looking. You\u2019ll simply create more problems for both of you. Fearing that you\u2019re going to disappear again, your child may become unwilling to let you out of sight for a minute \u2013 even when you are at home.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your child reacts strongly see if your partner or a trusted friend can drop the child off instead. They might actually be protesting your departure more than the particular child care environment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask your child\u2019s carer if they can provide insights about the problem. For instance maybe the child doesn\u2019t like one of the other children in the group or is having difficulty settling down for an afternoon nap.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consistency is important so stick to a routine. Avoid making other changes to your child\u2019s routine while getting used to a new child care arrangement. For example this would not be a good time to move them from a cot to a bed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accept the fact that it takes time for young children to adjust to a new child care setting and some children take longer than others.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” _i=”1″ _address=”1.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” border_style_all=”none” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0.0″]<br \/>\n[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.23″ form_field_background_color=”#ffffff” header_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” animation_style=”slide” border_width_all=”2px” form_background_color=”#ffffff” global_module=”50465″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ _i=”1″ _address=”1.1.0.1″][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/img-001.png” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″] Settling Into A New Environment [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” bb_built=”1″ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-for-parents"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Settling Into A New Environment | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care whether a new centre, room or educator. There is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Settling Into A New Environment | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care whether a new centre, room or educator. There is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T01:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T01:11:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"headline\":\"Settling Into A New Environment\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T01:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-14T01:11:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":878,\"articleSection\":[\"Tips For Parents\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/\",\"name\":\"Settling Into A New Environment | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-14T01:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-14T01:11:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"description\":\"Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care whether a new centre, room or educator. There is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/settling-into-a-new-environment\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Settling Into A New Environment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\",\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Savage\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/mark\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Settling Into A New Environment | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care whether a new centre, room or educator. There is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Settling Into A New Environment | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care whether a new centre, room or educator. There is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free.","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2020-01-14T01:11:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-14T01:11:04+00:00","author":"Mark Savage","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Savage","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Savage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"headline":"Settling Into A New Environment","datePublished":"2020-01-14T01:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-14T01:11:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/"},"wordCount":878,"articleSection":["Tips For Parents"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/","name":"Settling Into A New Environment | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-01-14T01:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-14T01:11:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"description":"Many children experience anxiety when starting a new child care whether a new centre, room or educator. There is plenty you can do to make the transition as stress free.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/settling-into-a-new-environment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Settling Into A New Environment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1","name":"Mark Savage","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Savage"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/mark\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50614,"date":"2019-12-03T03:05:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T03:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50614"},"modified":"2019-12-03T03:05:56","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T03:05:56","slug":"toddler-tantrums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/","title":{"rendered":"Toddler Tantrums"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ column_structure=”3_5,2_5″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”3_5″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><b>What is a tantrum?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A tantrum is the expression of a young child\u2019s frustration with the challenges of the moment. Perhaps your toddler is having trouble figuring something out or completing a specific task.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”2_5″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.29.1″ src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/Peek-a-book-baby-768×576.jpg” hover_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe your toddler can\u2019t find the words to express his or her thoughts or feelings. Whatever the challenge, frustration with the situation might trigger anger \u2014 resulting in a temper tantrum.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider this: Most toddlers have a limited vocabulary. Parents might understand what a toddler says only some of the time. Strangers understand even less. When your child wants to tell you something and you don\u2019t understand \u2014 or you don\u2019t comply with your child\u2019s wishes \u2014 no doubt you will have a tantrum on your hands. If your child is thirsty, hungry or tired, his or her threshold for frustration is likely to be even lower \u2014 and a tantrum more likely.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h4><b>Strategies to reduce tantrums<\/b><\/h4>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There might be no fool-proof way to prevent tantrums, but there\u2019s plenty you can do to encourage good behaviour in even the youngest children.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Be consistent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Establish a daily routine so that your child knows what to expect. Stick to the routine as much as possible, including nap time and bedtime. It\u2019s also important to set reasonable limits and follow them consistently.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Plan ahead<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you need to run errands, go when your child isn\u2019t likely to be hungry or tired. If you\u2019re expecting to wait in line, pack a small toy or snack to occupy your child.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Encourage your child to use words<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Young children understand many more words than they\u2019re able to express. If you\u2019re child isn\u2019t speaking clearly yet, look out for cues. The more easily your child can communicate with you, the less likely you are to struggle with tantrums. As your child gets older, help him or her put feelings into words.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Let your child make choices<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. To give your toddler a sense of control, let him or her make appropriate choices. \u201cTell me, would you like to wear your red shirt or your blue shirt?\u201d \u201c,Today, would you like to eat strawberries or bananas?\u201d \u201cWould you like to read a book or build a tower with your blocks?\u201d Then compliment your child on his or her choices. Remember to keep the choices limited, otherwise it\u2019s just information overload.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Praise good behaviour<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Offer extra attention when your child behaves well. Give your child a hug or tell your child how proud you are when he or she shares toys, follows directions, and so on. Let your child catch you role modelling this type of behaviour.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Use distraction to change your child\u2019s focus<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you sense frustration brewing, try to distract your child. Suggest a new activity or change location. Say something funny or start singing a favourite song.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Avoid situations likely to trigger tantrums<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If your child begs for toys or treats when you shop, steer clear of \u201ctemptation island\u201d full of eye-level goodies. If your toddler acts up in restaurants, make reservations so that you won\u2019t have to wait \u2014 or choose restaurants that offer quick service.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ column_structure=”3_5,2_5″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”3_5″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″] What is a tantrum?   A tantrum is the expression of a young child\u2019s frustration with the challenges of the moment. Perhaps your toddler is having trouble figuring something out or completing a specific task. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”2_5″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.29.1″ src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/Peek-a-book-baby-768×576.jpg” hover_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-for-parents"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Toddler Tantrums | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toddler Tantrums | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ column_structure=”3_5,2_5″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”3_5″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″] What is a tantrum?   A tantrum is the expression of a young child\u2019s frustration with the challenges of the moment. Perhaps your toddler is having trouble figuring something out or completing a specific task. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”2_5″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.29.1″ src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/Peek-a-book-baby-768×576.jpg” hover_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-03T03:05:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-03T03:05:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"headline\":\"Toddler Tantrums\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-03T03:05:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T03:05:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"articleSection\":[\"Tips For Parents\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/\",\"name\":\"Toddler Tantrums | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-03T03:05:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T03:05:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/toddler-tantrums\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Toddler Tantrums\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\",\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Savage\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/mark\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Toddler Tantrums | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Toddler Tantrums | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights","og_description":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ column_structure=”3_5,2_5″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”3_5″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″] What is a tantrum?   A tantrum is the expression of a young child\u2019s frustration with the challenges of the moment. Perhaps your toddler is having trouble figuring something out or completing a specific task. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”2_5″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.29.1″ src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/Peek-a-book-baby-768×576.jpg” hover_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ hover_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”3.29.1″ type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-12-03T03:05:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-12-03T03:05:56+00:00","author":"Mark Savage","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Savage","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Savage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"headline":"Toddler Tantrums","datePublished":"2019-12-03T03:05:52+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T03:05:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/"},"wordCount":626,"articleSection":["Tips For Parents"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/","name":"Toddler Tantrums | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-03T03:05:52+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T03:05:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/toddler-tantrums\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Toddler Tantrums"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1","name":"Mark Savage","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Savage"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/mark\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50607,"date":"2019-12-03T01:29:40","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T01:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50607"},"modified":"2019-12-03T01:31:19","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T01:31:19","slug":"6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The festive season is a time filled with Christmas cheer, abundant food and drink and a seemingly endless stream of social engagements and Christmas parties. Amidst the festivities, we are often left feeling fatigued and ready to escape to a tropical island for some rest and relaxation. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”1″ _address=”0.0.1″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/download-1.jpg” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.1.0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”1″ _address=”0.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.1.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.1.0.0″]<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a time when it becomes even more important to take some time out to look after yourself and your nearest and dearest, and to be aware of the often-overlooked dangers of the festive season. \u2018Dangers?\u2019 you may ask. \u2018What dangers?\u2019 Here are some that we have come up with:\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h4><strong>1. Food\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the office Christmas party to the family lunch, the festive season is a time when food is often over-abundant, and we tell ourselves that abandoning our usual healthy(ish) eating patterns is entirely acceptable. While food is certainly a big part of social engagement, there are some simple ways to curb your excesses. It can be as simple as eating more slowly, skipping dessert occasionally, removing the skin from your portion of the Christmas turkey, or choosing the grilled chicken breast and salad rather than the burger-with-the-lot. Everything in moderation!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h4><strong>2. Alcohol\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all know that too much alcohol will leave us with a sore head and potentially some regrets the next day, but aside from its effects on our liver, head and mood, alcohol-related harms can have wide-ranging impacts on others. Alcohol-related assaults and drink-driving offences increase over the Christmas and New Year period, so remind yourself and your friends to have that extra glass of water between alcoholic drinks, and please leave the car at home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h4><strong>3. Water safety and risk-taking\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Days at the beach are one of the things which we most look forward to as the weather warms up. Protect yourself and your family by always swimming between the red-and-yellow flags, never leaving your children or your belongings unattended at the beach, obeying beach signs and lifeguards\u2019 instructions, and avoiding risky activities like jumping off rocks and swimming under the influence of alcohol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h4><strong>4. Loneliness\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Christmas is often seen as a time to connect with friends and loved ones, for many people it can feel the opposite. Many of us can feel isolated from our social and family networks during this time, whether it\u2019s because of conflict, distance or loss. If you are feeling lonely, take some time to engage in some self-care, whether that means taking yourself out to see a film, to do some exercise or to do something simply for the sake of enjoying yourself; for example, having a massage or taking yourself out for lunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t be afraid to reach out- often you\u2019ll find that those around you are all too happy to lend an ear, or some time. Similarly, if you think that someone around you might be left on their lonesome this Christmas, reach out! Your offer will almost always be very much appreciated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h4><strong>5. Heat\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While our European counterparts are more concerned about slipping on icy footpaths, in Australia the Christmas period is often the hottest of the year. While we\u2019re out enjoying ourselves, the dangers of sunburn, dehydration and heat stroke are often the last things on our minds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can protect yourself and your family by keeping plenty of drinking water on hand, applying sunscreen half an hour before going out in the sun and re-applying every two hours, following the principles of \u2018Slip on a shirt, Slop on some sunscreen, Slap on a shirt, Wrap on some sunglasses and Seek shade.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h4><strong>6. Toys<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While gift-giving is exciting and the joy your children experience when opening their Christmas presents is palpable and wonderful, it\u2019s important to remember that little mouths, curious minds and small toy parts don\u2019t mix. Be sure to avoid leaving your children unattended with sharp or dangerous toys or household objects, and to keep a very close eye on them if and when they are playing with toys comprised of small parts which might be easily swallowed or inhaled; for example lego, build-your-own kits and small-part play equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope that all of our wonderful families and friends have a happy and safe festive season!\u00a0 We\u2019re looking forward to continuing to care for your and your family in the new year and beyond.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″] The festive season is a time filled with Christmas cheer, abundant food and drink and a seemingly endless stream of social engagements and Christmas parties. Amidst the festivities, we are often left feeling fatigued and ready to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-for-parents"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″] The festive season is a time filled with Christmas cheer, abundant food and drink and a seemingly endless stream of social engagements and Christmas parties. Amidst the festivities, we are often left feeling fatigued and ready to […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-03T01:29:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-03T01:31:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Savage\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"headline\":\"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-03T01:29:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T01:31:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":842,\"articleSection\":[\"Tips For Parents\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/\",\"name\":\"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-03T01:29:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-03T01:31:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1\",\"name\":\"Mark Savage\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Savage\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/mark\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights","og_description":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″] The festive season is a time filled with Christmas cheer, abundant food and drink and a seemingly endless stream of social engagements and Christmas parties. Amidst the festivities, we are often left feeling fatigued and ready to […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-12-03T01:29:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-12-03T01:31:19+00:00","author":"Mark Savage","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Savage","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Savage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"headline":"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season","datePublished":"2019-12-03T01:29:40+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T01:31:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/"},"wordCount":842,"articleSection":["Tips For Parents"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/","name":"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare - Merewether Heights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-03T01:29:40+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-03T01:31:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/6-tips-for-self-care-over-the-festive-season\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"6 Tips for Self-Care Over the Festive Season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/edcc44c9678f29e739d40c7fb030ede1","name":"Mark Savage","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5670366a8816d1a184d7b136b67f8167d4b628e50e6e0ad4fa584acab06eda9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Savage"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/mark\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50407,"date":"2019-06-17T05:34:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T05:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50407"},"modified":"2019-06-18T04:41:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T04:41:10","slug":"the-impatient-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"THE IMPATIENT ZONE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.5″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right”]<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u201cAre we there yet?,\u201d the backseat asks.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Uh oh.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>\u201cIn a little while,\u201d you answer, hoping against hope that this will satisfy her. But like every parent, you already know what\u2019s coming\u2026 the fidgeting, the fussing, the fooling around, and the falling apart.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>You have just entered<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">The Impatient Zone.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/bored-boy\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Bored-Boy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50442 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"188\" height=\"214\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">WHY ARE KIDS IMPATIENT?<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Now, before you allow this to become a test of your patience, know this\u2026<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Kids are impatient because \u201cnow\u201d is all they know.<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>You see, without a lot life experience and nascent memory skills, little ones have no real sense of the concept of \u201cpast.\u201d Without understanding \u201cpast\u201d there is no understanding of the more complex concept of \u201cfuture.\u201d Without \u201cfuture,\u201d there is no understanding of waiting. And it\u2019s the waiting part that takes patience.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">For young children time isn\u2019t real because it\u2019s not tangible. They can\u2019t see it, hear it, taste it, smell it, or touch it.<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>For instance, ask any two year old what she did yesterday and chances are you\u2019ll get a blank stare. Ask her if she went to the circus yesterday, and she\u2019ll tell you all about it. She remembers the circus. She simply doesn\u2019t understand that it happened yesterday.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>For time-strapped parents, it\u2019s hard to imagine the very thing that rules every minute of your day can be so illusive \u2013 so NOT-real \u2013 to your child.\u00a0 So let\u2019s talk about how time comes into focus for little ones\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/impatient-zone-why-wait\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Impatient-Zone-Why-Wait.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50447 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Impatient-Zone-Why-Wait.png 400w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Impatient-Zone-Why-Wait-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Impatient-Zone-Why-Wait-300x300.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">HOW KIDS LEARN ABOUT TIME<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>MAKING IT REAL.<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Kids learn about time by moving through it.<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>At first it may be noticing the difference between day and night \u2014 light and dark. Next, she may begin to associate time with routine, everyday things. For instance, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are regular, time-based events that make time tangible for her.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>LEARNING SEQUENCE.<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Next comes the idea of the passage of time when she begins to grasp \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter.\u201d<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Putting on your socks before you put on your shoes is the very beginning of sequencing, which will later unlock abstract concepts such as \u201cpast\u201d and \u201cfuture.\u201d<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>TIME MEASUREMENT.<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Actual increments of time \u2014 seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc. \u2014 are far more sophisticated concepts<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>that will come to her with experience and language acquisition\u2026 dare I say it\u2026 over time.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>TELLING TIME. And finally,<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">the ability to read the clock will emerge as she begins to recognize and understand numbers and number sequencing<\/strong>, and relating those numbers to the time-based events in her life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 100%; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-cZ9N1HYBZCw\/TdnsTJn3A5I\/AAAAAAAAAPc\/_oWIejN_nr0\/s1600\/Girl+Eating+Cracker.jpg\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-cZ9N1HYBZCw\/TdnsTJn3A5I\/AAAAAAAAAPc\/_oWIejN_nr0\/s400\/Girl+Eating+Cracker.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; border-style: none; max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; vertical-align: middle; transition: opacity 1s ease 0s; opacity: 1; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">TALKING TIME<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Like so many things in a young child\u2019s life, time concepts unfold naturally through everyday experiences and the words she hears from you. So<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">choosing your words about time is important.<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>After all, what does \u201cin a minute\u201d mean to a little one who doesn\u2019t yet understand how long a minute actually is.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Here are some of the time-based words we use casually in everyday conversation. Try to imagine what these actually mean to your child\u2026\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Soon \u2022 as soon as \u2022 shortly \u2022 almost \u2022 just about \u2022 not long \u2022 later \u2022 in a second \u2022 in a moment \u2022 in a minute \u2022 in five minutes \u2022 in a while \u2022 just a minute \u2022 not now \u2022 until \u2022 not until \u2022 before \u2022 during \u2022 while \u2022 after \u2022 yesterday \u2022 today \u2022 tomorrow \u2022 next week \u2022 next month \u2022 last week \u2022 last month \u2022 since \u2022 once \u2022 never.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Is there any wonder they get impatient?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>To help your child get an understanding of time, she has to get a \u201cfeel\u201d for it. And one of the things you can do to help that process is to make sure you\u2019re saying what you mean.<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Use time language that is specific, contextual, and descriptive<\/strong>. A few examples\u2026<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>\u201cI\u2019LL PLAY SOON.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Choose a specific time then set an\u00a0egg timer,\u00a0explaining that when it\u00a0rings, it will be time to play.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>\u201cI\u2019LL PLAY LATER.\u201d If you can\u2019t be specific, put time in context, such as, \u201cI\u2019ll play later,\u00a0after dinner.\u201d<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>\u201cI\u2019LL PLAY TOMORROW.\u201d\u00a0When you\u2019re not sure your child will\u00a0understand an abstract time\u00a0concept, describe it, such as,\u00a0\u201cAfter we wake up in the morning, it\u00a0will be tomorrow and then I\u2019ll play\u00a0with you.\u201d<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Now, I can\u2019t promise you that precision language will keep you out of The Impatient Zone entirely. But a little clarity and lot of patience and understanding on your part may make those trips through \u201cThe Zone\u201d easier to navigate.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">TIME PROMISES<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And one last note. When you say you\u2019ll be there \u201cin a minute,\u201d be there in a minute. If you show up 10 minutes later, you run the risk of confusing her. She may begin to sense that one minute is 10 times longer than it actually is.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>But even more, when you show up when you say you will, you\u2019re teaching her the importance of keeping your word.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And on that subject, every minute counts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/girl-with-bubbles\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Girl-with-Bubbles.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50445 alignnone size-full\" width=\"400\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Girl-with-Bubbles.jpg 400w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Girl-with-Bubbles-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">MINUTE MOVES!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">SET UP.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">If you don\u2019t have one, I strongly suggest going out and buying an egg timer. Setting the timer and hearing it ring is great sensory reinforcement of time concepts.\u00a0 Alternatively, many smart phones have timer apps already installed, or you could find a few short, one-minute songs your child loves, using them as the timer for these games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>TO PLAY.\u00a0 Set the timer for one minute (or whatever time increment you believe your child can manage), then go have fun! Use the following list as your starting point, then make up your own Minute Moves! But be sure not to make these games competitive. The idea here is to have your child understand what time feels like by playing and moving through time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">How far can you run in a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>How much sand can you scoop in your bucket in a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>How many times can your roll over in a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>How many blocks can you stack in a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Can you hang from the monkeybars for a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Can you wiggle your toes for a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Can you bounce a ball for a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Can you stay still for a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Can you brush your teeth for a minute?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>How many kisses can you give mommy in a minute?<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Source:<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2011\/05\/impatient-zone.html\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2011\/05\/impatient-zone.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ border_style_all=”none” animation_style=”slide”][\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” form_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” border_width_all=”2px” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” animation_style=”slide” hover_enabled=”0″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”50465″ saved_tabs=”all”][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” align=”center” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>THE IMPATIENT ZONE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE IMPATIENT ZONE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” align=”center” […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-17T05:34:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-18T04:41:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"253\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"205\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"headline\":\"THE IMPATIENT ZONE\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:34:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:41:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1439,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Boy-Roaring.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/\",\"name\":\"THE IMPATIENT ZONE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Boy-Roaring.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:34:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:41:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Boy-Roaring.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Boy-Roaring.jpg\",\"width\":253,\"height\":205},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/the-impatient-zone\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"THE IMPATIENT ZONE\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\",\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"robthebuilder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/robthebuilder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"THE IMPATIENT ZONE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"THE IMPATIENT ZONE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off”][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg” align=”center” […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-17T05:34:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-18T04:41:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":253,"height":205,"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"robthebuilder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"robthebuilder","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/"},"author":{"name":"robthebuilder","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"headline":"THE IMPATIENT ZONE","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:34:09+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:41:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/"},"wordCount":1439,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg","articleSection":["News & Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/","name":"THE IMPATIENT ZONE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:34:09+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:41:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-Roaring.jpg","width":253,"height":205},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/the-impatient-zone\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"THE IMPATIENT ZONE"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8","name":"robthebuilder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"robthebuilder"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/robthebuilder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50406,"date":"2019-06-17T05:24:44","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T05:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50406"},"modified":"2019-06-18T04:34:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T04:34:50","slug":"welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/","title":{"rendered":"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.5″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right”]<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">As you step across the border, it all looks so different \u2014 everything is so much bigger and brighter, all shiny and new. You\u2019re surrounded by things you\u2019ve never seen before and it\u2019s all so fascinating, you must\u2026 absolutely must\u2026 try it all.<span>\u00a0<\/span><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Why? Cuz-It\u2019s-There.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And so you do. With reckless abandon, you scoot from one thing to the next touching and tasting it all. Some things you like. Others not. But you are not dissuaded. What matters is you\u2019ve got to try\u2026 try\u2026 try it all!<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Why? Cuz-It\u2019s-There.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And then, one day, it happens. You\u2019ve tried everything within reach. \u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Now what?<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And then you look up. EUREKA! There\u2019s a whole world above you full of new and shiny things just waiting to be tried!\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Ah, but how to get there? You need some \u201cvert.\u201d<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And so you get some.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>By sheer force of will, your arms follow your eyes, reaching out to that higher promised land. Not wanting to be left behind, your legs find strength you didn\u2019t know they had. Suddenly, you\u2019re two feet taller than you were a moment ago and a whole new world is now yours for the taking!<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Why? Cuz-It\u2019s-There.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENT LEARNING<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>By nature, kids at any age are the world\u2019s most intrepid explorers and original experimenters. They take nothing at face value, probing, challenging, trying, and testing everyone and everything they encounter. And that\u2019s exactly the way nature meant them to be, because\u2026<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Trying is how kids learn, and even more, how they come to<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">understand<\/em>.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>It\u2019s that simple.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Now, we all know that The Road to Independent Learning through the random Land of Cuz-It\u2019s-There has its smooth patches and rough spots. But in recent years, with the trend towards overprotectionism, well-intentioned as it may be, it appears we\u2019ve all focused more on the bumps in the road than the eye-opening vistas the journey provides.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Which brings us to the age-old, inevitable parental crossroad: How do I let my child go forth and try while keeping him safe from harm?\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And before you sit forward in your chair and think I\u2019ve got the answer in a bottle you can buy, sit back. \u00a0I don\u2019t. \u00a0Safety has to be your decision, day by day, situation by situation.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>However, I would like to offer up the classic, classroom principle of Pause-Prompt-Praise as food for thought\u2026<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">PAUSE \u2022 PROMPT \u2022 PRAISE<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">PAUSE.<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Knowing your child as you do, when you see a potential problem \u2014 and it is NOT IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUS \u2014 pause for a moment before reacting. For instance, your child may get himself stuck on a piece playground equipment.\u00a0Again, if it\u2019s not an immediate hazard, give your child time to think and watch to see if he can work it out for himself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">PROMPT.<\/strong>Then, if you feel the need to step in, do so. Trying not to do it for him, gently prompt ways to solve the situation, offering a helping hand as needed. In other words, put yourself in the role of the helper, not leader.\u00a0 For instance, you might say \u201cI wonder how we can help you get unstuck.\u00a0What if I hold your arms while you lift your leg?\u201d<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">PRAISE.<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>As the situation resolves itself, praise the actions your child took to solve it. \u00a0And be specific. \u201cWell done\u201d doesn\u2019t tell him what to do the next time.\u00a0 Instead, try to recreate the situation verbally so he knows what he did well, along the lines of: \u201cI love the way you lifted your knee up to get unstuck.\u201d\u00a0 Chances are, the next time he gets stuck, he\u2019ll remember to lift his knee.<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And lastly, if I may, I would suggest that we all take a deep breath and consider this. \u00a0Each time an opportunity to independently explore and experiment is taken away a potential risk may have been averted. But at the same time, a potential reward may have been thwarted\u2026<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>\u2026the ability to arrive at his own conclusions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2011\/02\/welcome-to-land-of-cuz-its-there.html\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; outline: none;\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/boy-in-blue-close-up\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-in-Blue-Close-Up.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50434 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"400\" height=\"358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-in-Blue-Close-Up.jpg 400w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Boy-in-Blue-Close-Up-300x269.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2011\/02\/welcome-to-land-of-cuz-its-there.html\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; outline: none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sources: http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2011\/02\/welcome-to-land-of-cuz-its-there.html<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog-share text-center\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ border_style_all=”none” animation_style=”slide”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” form_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” border_width_all=”2px” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” animation_style=”slide” hover_enabled=”0″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”50465″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-17T05:24:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"362\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"headline\":\"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:24:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1087,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/\",\"name\":\"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:24:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg\",\"width\":362,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\",\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"robthebuilder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/robthebuilder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg” […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-17T05:24:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":362,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"robthebuilder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"robthebuilder","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/"},"author":{"name":"robthebuilder","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"headline":"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:24:44+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/"},"wordCount":1087,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg","articleSection":["News & Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/","name":"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:24:44+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Racing-Boy-with-Arms-Up-Laughing-Cropped.jpg","width":362,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/welcome-to-the-land-of-cuz-its-there\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CUZ-IT\u2019S-THERE"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8","name":"robthebuilder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"robthebuilder"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/robthebuilder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50405,"date":"2019-06-17T05:18:39","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T05:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50405"},"modified":"2020-02-05T03:24:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T03:24:23","slug":"what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-4.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” fb_built=”1″ bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” fb_built=”1″ bb_built=”1″ _i=”1″ _address=”1″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-4.jpg” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.1″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” _i=”1″ _address=”1.0.0.1″]<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Like red rubber balls and teddy bears, broccoli refusals, skipping rope, sticky fingers, boo boo kisses, bath time pouts, and nighty night tuck ins, I think cardboard boxes are essential kit for little kids.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>And the granddaddy of them all are refrigerator boxes.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Guess what arrived at my house the other day? (he-he-he!)\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>After a day with my grandchildren and a big cardboard box, it got me thinking about why kids love cardboard boxes, and why cardboard boxes are great for kids\u2026\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Six Learning Dimensions of a Cardboard Box<\/strong><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">(Refrigerator or Otherwise)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/kids-cardboard-box-1\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-50425 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"380\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg 380w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1-285x300.jpg 285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">1. SPATIAL AWARENESS.<\/strong>\u00a0Babies do it. Toddlers do it. Preschoolers too. (And I bet more than once you\u2019ve secretly wanted to as well.) The first thing little kids do when confronted with a cardboard box is try to get in it. Cute as this is, there\u2019s actually an important reason why they do this. It\u2019s called Spatial Awareness.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>You see,\u00a0<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">in the early years, little ones spend a good deal of time getting to know their own bodies, and with that comes the necessary question \u201chow big am I?\u201d But they\u2019re growing, so the answer to that question keeps changing.<\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s why kids are constantly testing their own size by crawling in, through, around, over and under things. And cardboard boxes are often the perfect size for this kind of spatial exploration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/kids-cardboard-box-6\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-50423 alignnone size-large\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-6-812x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"330\" height=\"449\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">2. COMFORT & SECURITY.<\/strong>\u00a0There\u2019s also an emotional component to seeking out small spaces. Right from the start, children are soothed by a sense of being bundled up or embraced in mommy\u2019s arms. This need for \u201cdenning\u201d continues throughout childhood (and I would argue throughout life) because in many ways,\u00a0<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">it\u2019s a subconscious return to the comfort of the womb.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\"><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><\/strong><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">3. EMPOWERMENT.<\/strong>\u00a0Imagine what it\u2019s like to always be the smallest person in a room. Everything is sized for big people.\u00a0<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">In small spaces, kids feel BIG.\u00a0<\/strong>(Sometimes it\u2019s good to be small.)\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Likewise, the light-weight construction of a cardboard box enables young children to move and manipulate an object that is bigger than they are. In other words, cardboard yields to their will.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/kids-cardboard-box-3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-50429 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-3.jpg 442w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-3-207x300.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">4. CONTROL.<\/strong>\u00a0Cardboard boxes make ideal hiding places. And kids love to hide. Now, I haven\u2019t made a scientific study of this, but I believe\u00a0<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">the<\/strong><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">hiding game may well be the first experience a child has with knowing something you don\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/strong>And I think this is such a powerful idea when we grow up, as adults we intuitively \u201cget it.\u201d\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Think about it. The hiding game usually begins with an impish grin as she ducks out of sight. Without even thinking about it, you join the game. \u201cHmmm. I wonder where Caitlin is? I can\u2019t see her. Is she under the pillow? No. Is she behind the couch? No. Hmmm. Is she on my head? No\u2026\u201d\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Then comes the big surprise! \u201cHere I am!\u201d And of course, the tone in her voice let\u2019s you know she\u2019s got one up on you. What fun! And what a powerful role reversal that is!<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">5. ASENSORY PLAY.<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019ve read a lot and I\u2019ve written a lot about the importance of providing children with rich sensory experiences each and every day. Yet \u201c<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">asensory\u201d experiences play an important role in sensory development as well.<\/strong><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">For instance, the humble cardboard box is a great example of an asensory environment.<\/strong>\u00a0The brown color suggests nothing in particular. The smooth sides infer little. The cube structure defines empty space. The subtle smell lacks distraction. The sound of the cardboard folding is muted and music-less. This very LACK of sensory inputs (or perhaps, more accurately said, the subtle nature of the sensory inputs) is an essential contrast to the more powerful and deliberate stimulation we traditionally think of when we talk about \u201csensory play.\u201d\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>This relief from the sensory world may explain, in part, why kids find the confines of a cardboard box so appealing. And of course,\u00a0<strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">its very neutrality is the blank-slate upon which children so easily imprint their imaginations\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">6. IMAGINATION.<\/strong>\u00a0Much as been written about this, but for my money, the minimalist\u00a0<em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Not A Box<\/em>, by Antoinette Portis says all that needs to be said on the subject.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/kids-cardboard-box-5\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-50430 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"465\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-5.jpg 465w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-5-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Introducing A Big Cardboard Box<\/strong>\u00a0For the record, turning a box into a plaything is an eco-friendly first lesson is waste-not, want-not. So when you have the opportunity, try encouraging preschoolers to think about the concept of reusing things for other purposes. For instance, you might explain the purpose of packaging \u2014 that the box was designed to protect the product so that it wouldn\u2019t get scratched. But that doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the only thing you can do with a box. Then wonder aloud\u2026 \u201cI wonder what we could do with this big box? What do you think?\u201d\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Children\u2019s natural curiosity should take over, but if the size of the thing is a bit overwhelming, you might want to encourage a few ideas to get her started, and before you know it, you won\u2019t be able to get her out of it!\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Big Box Ideas?<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019ve got a great big cardboard box idea you\u2019ve tried with your kids, I\u2019d love to hear about it! Please post your link here in the comments section. Thanks so much.\u00a0<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/kids-cardboard-box-8\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-50424 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"397\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-8.jpg 397w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-8-186x300.jpg 186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">For this post, we focused on oversized boxes, but any size box can be put to re-use for recycled fun.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/hopscotch-8\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-50427 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Hopscotch-8.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Hopscotch-8.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Hopscotch-8-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Source:\u00a0<a style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2013\/03\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids.html\">http:\/\/movingsmartblog.blogspot.com\/2013\/03\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” _i=”1″ _address=”1.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” border_style_all=”none” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0.0″][\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.23″ form_field_background_color=”#ffffff” header_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” animation_style=”slide” border_width_all=”2px” form_background_color=”#ffffff” global_module=”50465″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ _i=”1″ _address=”1.1.0.1″][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-4.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” fb_built=”1″ bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-4.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” fb_built=”1″ bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-17T05:18:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-05T03:24:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"headline\":\"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:18:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-05T03:24:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1378,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/\",\"name\":\"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:18:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-05T03:24:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg\",\"width\":380,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\",\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"robthebuilder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/robthebuilder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-4.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” fb_built=”1″ bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” animation_style=”slide” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″ title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-17T05:18:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-02-05T03:24:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":380,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"robthebuilder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"robthebuilder","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/"},"author":{"name":"robthebuilder","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"headline":"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:18:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-05T03:24:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/"},"wordCount":1378,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg","articleSection":["News & Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/","name":"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:18:39+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-05T03:24:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Kids-Cardboard-Box-1.jpg","width":380,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/what-cardboard-boxes-can-teach-kids\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"WHAT CARDBOARD BOXES CAN TEACH KIDS"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8","name":"robthebuilder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"robthebuilder"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/robthebuilder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50404,"date":"2019-06-17T05:04:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T05:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50404"},"modified":"2019-06-18T04:34:51","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T04:34:51","slug":"how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.5″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” custom_padding=”||1px|||”]<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">The less regulated we are as parents, the more likely it is that we will react to our kids, letting their emotions overcome us. But this one little trick for calm parenting can make all the difference between reacting and responding, even when you\u2019re exhausted.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">My coffee cup was halfway to my mouth for that first sip of the day when the battle cries from the 5- and 6-year-old cousins drifted into my sister\u2019s kitchen\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">No, it\u2019s MINE!<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>But I had it FIRST!<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>That\u2019s not fair!<br style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\" \/>But I want it!<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">I sighed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Then the 2-year-old shrieked, and I jumped up quickly, irritated before even entering the room. My body leaned forward, and my breath held tight in my chest. I went in<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">hot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">And while I didn\u2019t technically yell, my tone wasn\u2019t much better.<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">Maybe no one will get to have it if we can\u2019t agree. Maybe we all need to take a break. Well, none of that is YOURS, actually, it all belongs to the 2-year-old.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Biting words. Fighting words. Words that<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">certainly<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>did not bring peace to the situation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Looking into their faces with their furrowed brows and set jaws, I realized I was just<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">reacting<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>to their emotions instead of<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nurtureandthriveblog.com\/act-instead-of-react-an-easy-3-step-solution-to-discipline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">responding in a caring and constructive way<\/a>. The opposite of mindful, calm parenting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Bonus:<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.subscribepage.com\/calm-parents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">Download a free cheat sheet<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>of mantras for parents from Ashley, the author of this post and the mom behind the web site Nurture and Thrive.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">The Reason We Lose Our Cool As Parents<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">I\u2019m a child development psychologist. I<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">know<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>reacting like that doesn\u2019t teach kids how to regulate their own emotions. I<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">know<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>biting words don\u2019t help kids learn how to resolve conflict. I<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">know<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>kids need connection in order to cooperate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Calm parenting is a must for healthy childhood development. And yet, I<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">still<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>reacted to emotion with emotion. Why?<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">The truth is that the less regulated we are as parents, the more likely it is that we will react to our kids, letting<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">their<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>emotions overcome<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">us<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">For example, I\u2019d spent the day before on a 6-hour plane ride and was operating on less sleep and a time difference. It felt like responding to the kids\u2019 emotions in a constructive way would take<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">too much<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>energy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">But I\u2019ve discovered that one little trick for calm parenting can make all the difference between reacting and responding, even when you\u2019re exhausted.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: table; margin: 0px auto; clear: both;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-cool03\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50413 alignnone size-full\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool03.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool03-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">The Secret to Calm Parenting? The Pause<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">A few minutes later, the shrieks began again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">But that time, I caught myself tensing up and I<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">paused<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">I took a slow breath. I said my mantra:<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">\u201cObserve with an open heart.\u201d<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>I centered myself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Here\u2019s why: Research shows that saying a mantra can<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/urban-survival\/201508\/how-mantras-calm-your-mind\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">calm the brain<\/a>. Pair that with the power of deep breathing, a proven way to<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2010\/12\/06\/131734718\/just-breathe-body-has-a-built-in-stress-reliever\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">halt the stress response<\/a>, and you have a<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">powerful<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>way to center yourself. The secret to calm parenting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">After the pause,<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>I was prepared to face the self-perceived injustice of three strong-willed boys.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">After the pause,<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>I saw their stressed faces and their struggle. I empathized \u2013<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">I can see you\u2019re upset. You feel like this is unfair.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">After the pause,<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>I asked them if they could think of a way to work it out. We waded through their suggestions and settled on something everyone could agree to.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">This is responding instead of reacting. This is<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nurtureandthriveblog.com\/act-instead-of-react-an-easy-3-step-solution-to-discipline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">mindful parenting<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">calm<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>parenting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Related:<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/angry-mother\/\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">How to Stop Being an Angry Mom Now\u2026Using 5 Hair Ties<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>{Printable}<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: table; margin: 0px auto; clear: both;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-cool01\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50416 alignnone size-full\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool01.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool01-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">How to Be a Calm Parent: The Power of the Pause<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Rapid breathing in your upper chest, tight muscles, a tight jaw, a sense of urgency \u2013 all of these are early signs of<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">stress<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>in the body. When you feel them, take a mindful pause.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Here\u2019s how you can get started with this calm parenting technique:<\/p>\n<ol style=\"box-sizing: border-box; list-style: decimal; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">Stop what you\u2019re doing and count to 10. If you need to remove a younger child from the situation, you can pick them up, but don\u2019t react to anything yet. Simply hold them. Count to 10 out loud in front of your kids. (Modeling how to calm down is a great bonus for teaching your children self-regulation!)<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">Take a deep breath.<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">Say your mantra. (More on this in a minute.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Developmental psychologists now use this kind of practice as a way to<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mindfulness.colostate.edu\/the_team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">strengthen relationships between parents and adolescents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Programs that teach parents mindfulness techniques include paying attention to the breath, recognizing signs of stress in your own body, and then being able to<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">halt<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>that process with a pause. Parents learn how to be a calm parent \u2013 breathe mindfully and say a mantra like<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2Fs10567-009-0046-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">\u201cstop, be calm, be present.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">But First, Choose Your Mantra<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Here are some calm parenting mantras that have worked for me:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"box-sizing: border-box; list-style: disc; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cRide this wave, mama\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cRespond with grace\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cI am their mom\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cChoose kindness\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cI am here for you\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cObserve with an open heart\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cAct with love\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cChoose joy\u201d<\/li>\n<li style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.6em; margin-left: 1.3em;\">\u201cSee how little they are\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Choose a mantra that works<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">for you<\/strong>. Maybe you\u2019d like a clear mantra that\u2019s to the point, or perhaps you prefer one that has a deeper meaning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">After you\u2019ve established taking a mindful pause as a habit, switch up your mantras to keep the words fresh and meaningful. Find words that inspire you, and you\u2019ll feel empowered rather than exhausted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Related:<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/how-to-be-a-happy-mom\/\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">How to Be a Happy Mom: Science Says Do These 7 Things<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>{Printable}<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: table; margin: 0px auto; clear: both;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-cool04\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50414 alignnone size-full\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool04.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool04-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Here\u2019s the Best Part<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">What I appreciate about the pause is that it helps me thoughtfully respond to my child instead of react. But that\u2019s not even the<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">best<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>part.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">When you pause, you root yourself in the moment. You\u2019re more<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">present<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">You\u2019ll find yourself pausing for the<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">good<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>things too \u2013 for savoring and soaking up the sweetness and hilarity of childhood.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Like on our trip to my sister\u2019s house. After the initial conflict, my sister reminded me that it\u2019s always like that when the cousins first get together. They\u2019re feeling each other out. She was right.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">The next day, when it was a little<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">too quiet<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>I found them all huddled together amongst the vacuum and the mop, flashlights in tow, and a headlamp on the 2-year-old. They whispered to each other the stories that will form the memories of adventures with cousins \u2013 memories that will stay with them for life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">And I was present in the moment to enjoy it. I was<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">finally<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>able to enjoy a leisurely coffee and chat with my sister whom I don\u2019t get to see face to face nearly enough.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Then later, when the oldest begged for a silly song to be played, we all danced like hooligans around my sister\u2019s ottoman, right there in her living room. It\u2019s a moment I\u2019ll always remember.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Mindful, calm parenting can be exhausting. Being able to center yourself and weather your child\u2019s storms takes practice. Half the battle is remembering to do it. But when you take a pause, you find your<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">power<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>there.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Download Your Free Cheat Sheet<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">This is a special note from Ashley, the author of this post and the mom behind<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nurtureandthriveblog.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">Nurture and Thrive<\/a>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; position: relative; font-size: 1.2em; padding: 0px 1.25em 0px 1.875em; border-left: 2px solid #446084; font-style: italic; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px;\">To help you remember, I made a free printable cheat sheet of my favorite mantras to help you stay calm and centered. When you download the cheat sheet, you\u2019ll also join my newsletter to get more calm parenting strategies. Just<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.subscribepage.com\/calm-parents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">click here to download and subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">How to Catch Yourself Before You Lose Your Cool<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">And now one final note from Kelly, the owner of this site\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">I asked Ashley to share this post with you because this is a lesson I had to learn the hard way. After my family welcomed our third little one into the mix, we became a family of five with a second-grader, a toddler, and a newborn. Even though I could have used more sleep and way more coffee, we were happy. Then my husband\u2019s paternity leave ended, and I was at home with the kids all day. As time wore on, my patience became<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">razor<\/em><span>\u00a0<\/span>thin. And one day, I just<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">broke<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: table; margin: 0px 0px 1.3em 1em; float: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/happy-you-mockup-book-trans-sm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/happy-you-mockup-book-trans-sm.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50417 alignnone size-full\" width=\"300\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/happy-you-mockup-book-trans-sm.png 300w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/happy-you-mockup-book-trans-sm-221x300.png 221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">The shame burns my cheeks just thinking of that day, even now. But thanks to that experience, I realized I had to make a change. I threw myself into researching how to find happiness in the chaos of parenting.<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">Something beyond<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cmake time for you\u201d and \u201cexercise more.\u201d Because when you\u2019re overwhelmed and at your breaking point, you don\u2019t need the \u201cexperts\u201d telling you more stuff to do<span>\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">on top of everything else<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">That\u2019s how I discovered the secrets: 10 secrets<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">every parent<\/strong>should know about being happy. After hearing from hundreds of parents in the same boat as me, I knew I needed to share what I discovered. And so I wrote a book:<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/happy-you\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">Happy You, Happy Family<\/a>. In the book, you get a Temper-Taming Toolkit with simple hacks like this to help you keep your cool during those everyday parenting moments that test your patience.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/happy-you\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">Click here to get your copy plus a bonus workbook<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>and start your journey towards finding more happiness as a parent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Because the truth is that<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">happiness won\u2019t come<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>from a big promotion at work, or from winning the lottery, or from your kids all learning to put their toys away when they\u2019re done playing. Because eventually, you just get used to all that stuff.<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">True, lasting happiness comes from a conscious effort<span>\u00a0<\/span><strong style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;\">by you<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>to put the right habits in place.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Want More?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">For more information about mindfulness, here\u2019s a<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mindfulness.colostate.edu\/guided-mindfulness-exercise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; color: #334862; text-decoration: none;\">guided mindfulness exercise<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>from the CSU Center for Mindfulness.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; width: 772.5px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; text-rendering: optimizespeed; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Your Turn<\/h2>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">What\u2019s your best trick for calm parenting? Share in a comment below!<\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-top: 0px; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/calm-parenting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/calm-parenting\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ border_style_all=”none” animation_style=”slide”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” form_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” border_width_all=”2px” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” animation_style=”slide” hover_enabled=”0″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”50465″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-17T05:04:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-18T04:34:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"headline\":\"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:04:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2052,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T05:04:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":427},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\",\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"robthebuilder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/robthebuilder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg” […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-17T05:04:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-18T04:34:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"robthebuilder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"robthebuilder","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/"},"author":{"name":"robthebuilder","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"headline":"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:04:42+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/"},"wordCount":2052,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg","articleSection":["News & Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/","name":"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-17T05:04:42+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-cool02.jpg","width":640,"height":427},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/how-to-stop-losing-your-cool-with-your-kids-with-a-powerful-pause\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Stop Losing Your Cool With Your Kids\u2014With a Powerful Pause"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8","name":"robthebuilder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"robthebuilder"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/robthebuilder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50384,"date":"2019-06-17T04:29:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T04:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50384"},"modified":"2019-06-18T04:34:49","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T04:34:49","slug":"want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” z_index_tablet=”500″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.5″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right”]<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to raising smart kids who are kind, you need this powerful but simple habit. It\u2019s completely free, it takes just 10 or 15 minutes a day, and anyone can do it.<\/p>\n<p>As parents, we have big dreams for our kids.<\/p>\n<p>We want them to be smart so they can go after what they want in life and have a reasonable chance of getting it. We want them to grow up to be kind, caring members of the community. And it would be nice if they also turned out to be the type of people who remember to signal before turns.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a tall order. Especially when I consider the day a success if I remember to brush all my kids\u2019 teeth twice a day.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, now is the time to set our kids up for success in life. Short of morphing into a drill sergeant who fills every spare moment with flashcards and forced kindness, how can we raise smart and kind kids?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s the Good News About Raising Smart Kids<\/strong><br \/> As it turns out, we have one magic \u201ckeystone habit\u201d as parents that will help us raise smart, kind kids.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t heard of keystone habits before, they\u2019re an elite category of habits that kick off a chain reaction, influencing several areas of your life at once. In other words, you can focus on just one keystone habit, and you\u2019ll experience several positive impacts. For example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>\u201cKeystone habits explain how Michael Phelps became an Olympic champion and why some college students outperform their peers. They describe why some people, after years of trying, suddenly lose forty pounds while becoming more productive at work and still getting home in time for dinner with their kids.\u201d<\/em><br \/> \u2013 The Power of Habit<\/p>\n<p>The best thing about this particular \u201ckeystone habit\u201d for raising smart, kind kids is that it\u2019s completely free, it takes just 10-15 minutes a day, and anyone can do it.<\/p>\n<p>To get smart, kind kids, you don\u2019t have to sign your kid up for expensive tutoring or have twice-daily screenings of the movie Wonder.<\/p>\n<p>All you have to do is this: Read to your child. Even if they already know how to read to themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Because research shows reading aloud is the powerful keystone habit that will raise smart, kind kids. (More on that in a minute.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>But This Is What Gets in Our Way<\/strong><br \/> As parents, the demands on our time are endless.<\/p>\n<p>We have laundry to fold, sibling battles to mediate, and healthy dinners to prepare. Our kids need help with homework, the car is due for an oil change, and it\u2019s our turn to bring snacks after the t-ball game. We need to make doctor appointments, deposit a check at the bank, and sew that seam that ripped in our best work pants.<\/p>\n<p>On and on and on.<\/p>\n<p>This is why when it comes to reading aloud to our kids, we tend to prioritize it lower. I know I do. In a 2018 survey of American families, only 30 percent of parents reported reading aloud to their kids for at least 15 minutes a day.<\/p>\n<p>I try to read to my kids regularly, but for two weeks I tracked how many picture books I read aloud, and I was shocked. I\u2019d only read to my kids 6 out of 14 days \u2013 not even half of the days.<\/p>\n<p>And so to soothe my guilt, I decided to dig into exactly what reading aloud to your kid accomplishes. I wondered: <em>When it comes to raising smart kids, is reading aloud truly all it\u2019s cracked up to be?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-smart-001\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50396 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-001.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-001-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Single Habit That Raises Smart, Kind Kids?<\/strong><br \/> This is what happens when you read aloud to your child every day:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your child will hear a wider variety of words. Here\u2019s why this is important: \u201cThe one pre-kindergarten skill that matters above all others, because it is the prime predictor of school success or failure, is the child\u2019s vocabulary upon entering school. Yes, the child goes to school to learn new words, but the words he already knows determine how much of what the teacher says will be understood. And since most instruction for the first four years of school is oral, the child who has the largest vocabulary will understand the most, while the child with the smallest vocabulary will grasp the least.\u201d \u2013 The Read-Aloud Handbook<\/li>\n<li>You grow your child\u2019s brain, literally. The more you read to your child, the more the neurons in her brain will grow and connect together<\/li>\n<li>You put her on the path to be a lifelong reader. Reading is essential for the learning process, and kids who struggle with reading tend to struggle in school. But you have the power to give your child this one key to success in school and life because: \u201cThe single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.\u201d\u2013 Becoming a Nation of Readers<\/li>\n<li>Your child\u2019s behavior will improve. When you read aloud, you increase your child\u2019s ability to pay attention and concentrate \u2013 skills that definitely help your child in school. Also, reading aloud to a child can even decrease aggressive tendencies in the child<\/li>\n<li>You build a stronger bond with your child. Kids love when you read aloud to them because of the physical closeness and emotional bonding it offers: \u201cWe\u2019re blown away that kids time and again said the most special time they recall spending with a parent is reading together.\u201d This makes sense when you think about it. In our busy modern lives, how often do we stop everything we\u2019re doing, put down our phones, and just enjoy time with our kids? A strong connection with your child leads to better cooperation from them, and that\u2019s something pretty much every parent could use more of<\/li>\n<li>You increase your child\u2019s capacity for empathy. When you read fiction to your child, her brain is \u201cliterally living vicariously through the characters at a neurobiological level.\u201d In other words, you\u2019re exposing your child to different types of people and giving her the ability to put herself in their shoes while you read. Growing your child\u2019s empathy muscle will teach her to be a friend who empathizes, a partner who can see her partner\u2019s side in a disagreement, and a compassionate person who helps others in need<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The moral of my little research project? The one single habit of reading aloud to your child kicks off a chain reaction of all these positive outcomes, and more. If you\u2019re looking for the secret to raising smart kids, reading aloud is it.<\/p>\n<p>So why wasn\u2019t I making it happen even half the time?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-smart-002\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50397 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-002.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-002-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>8 Reasons Why We Don\u2019t Read Aloud \u2013 And How to Fix It<\/strong><br \/> <em>Knowing<\/em> that reading aloud to your kids is important and actually <em>making it happen<\/em> every day are two separate things.<\/p>\n<p>To explore that disconnect in my own parenting habits, I did some research and reached out to several parents I know to find out why we may not always read aloud to our kids. Then because I\u2019d just read oodles and oodles about how powerful a daily read-aloud habit can be for raising smart kids, for each reason I decided to pull together a few solutions that might help me and my fellow parents.<\/p>\n<p>Because sometimes, all we need is a tweak or two to make reading aloud a daily habit and set our kids up for a fulfilling, happy life.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, if you have any other suggestions for making this habit work, please leave a comment to share at the end of this post!<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. I\u2019m busy.<\/strong><br \/> When you\u2019re overwhelmed by daily parenting life, reading aloud to your kids doesn\u2019t always make the cut.<\/p>\n<p>This is my own Achilles heel. On the lazy days we spend at home, I have no problem fitting in read-aloud time. But on busy days where we have errands, extracurricular activities, or appointments, read-aloud time tends to fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n<p>How to Fix It: Make reading aloud a daily habit. Duh, right? But here are a few hacks for making it happen:<\/p>\n<p>Bundle it. Think of another daily habit you never skip, and bundle reading aloud with that. For example, you wouldn\u2019t skip brushing your kid\u2019s teeth at night, so make a rule that you won\u2019t brush teeth until after you\u2019ve read aloud. Or as another example, you could read aloud to the kids while they take a bath or if they\u2019re slow eaters, while they finish eating dinner.<br \/> Give yourself a visual cue. Visual cues are great for reminding yourself in the moments you\u2019re most likely to forget. For example, after reading aloud at bedtime, you could put the book back on your child\u2019s nightstand as a reminder to read the next night. Or you might get a sturdy wire basket like this, fill it with a few of the best picture books, and leave the basket on your kitchen counter or in a visible spot of your living room.<br \/> Track it. Post a piece of paper on your fridge or use colorful dry-erase markers to write on your bathroom mirror, and keep track of your goal. You might draw a green checkmark for every day you\u2019ve read aloud and a red X for any day you miss. Your goal is to keep a string of checkmarks going as long as possible!<\/p>\n<p><strong> 2. My kid can read on their own.<\/strong><br \/> When our kids are old enough to read on their own, we tend to stop reading aloud. This is what I did when my oldest started reading on her own. But the problem with stopping at this point is that we\u2019re not helping our beginning readers get to the next reading level.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cReading and listening skills begin to converge at about eighth grade. Until then, kids usually listen on a higher level than they read on. Therefore, children can hear and understand stories that are more complicated and more interesting than what they could read on their own\u2026Beyond the emotional bond that is established between parent and child (or teacher and class), you\u2019re feeding those higher vocabulary words through the ear; eventually they\u2019ll reach the brain and register in the child-reader\u2019s eyes.\u201d<br \/> \u2013 The Read-Aloud Handbook<\/p>\n<p>In other words, a fourth grader can listen to and appreciate a seventh grade level story before she can read it herself, and that\u2019s how you\u2019ll build her vocabulary enough so she can read a higher level book one day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Fix It:<\/strong> Lately, I\u2019ve noticed that if I sit down to read to my younger kids, my oldest will make her way to the same room and sit near us to listen in. Always remember that older kids still like to be read to, even though they may not admit it!<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019ve taken a break from reading aloud to your older child and they\u2019re used to reading on their own, it may seem odd to start back up again with reading aloud. Here are a few ideas for easing back in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask them to tell you about what they\u2019re reading. Then say, \u201cOoh, that sounds really good! Do you mind if I read out loud a little bit to you so we can both enjoy it at the same time?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Invite them to help you pick out a family read-aloud book, then you can all take turns reading out loud at dinner every night<\/li>\n<li>If you subscribe to the newspaper or magazines and you come across an interesting article, say to your child, \u201cCan I read this to you? I read it and thought you would enjoy it.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Listen to audiobooks during your commute to\/from school or while you do chores together, like folding laundry or unloading the dishwasher<\/li>\n<li>Find something funny like a poem or a short story and ask to read it out loud to them. Kids love funny, no matter how old they are!<\/li>\n<li>If your child was assigned a book to read for school, ask if you can read it out loud to them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-smart-003\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-003.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50398 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-003.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-003-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-003-510x382.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>3. I don\u2019t enjoy reading aloud.<\/strong><br \/> This can happen for two reasons: you don\u2019t like the book, or you just don\u2019t like the experience of reading out loud. I can relate to both reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoyable books, we\u2019ll get to below. But for the second issue, that can be a little more complicated. When I first started reading aloud to my oldest child, I made a mental comparison of my relatively monotone, low-key reading style to the most recent storytime we\u2019d attended at our local library. The librarian was so chipper, so full of energy. And the kids loved her! How could I compete with that?<\/p>\n<p>But I later realized that reading aloud isn\u2019t about your ability to perform. It\u2019s about connecting with your child. Because of the physical closeness and emotional bonding involved, reading aloud is something that kids regularly call out as their favorite activity to do with their parents.<\/p>\n<p>How to Fix It: The first one\u2019s an easy fix because the world has thousands and thousands of children\u2019s books to choose from, so just pick another one you\u2019ll all enjoy and read that instead.<\/p>\n<p>But if you struggle with the experience of reading aloud, try to reframe that time in your mind to focus on the connection you and your child will get from it. For example, you might come up with a special name for that time, like \u201cCuddle and Read Time\u201d or \u201cCozy Book Hour\u201d or \u201cHugs and Books Extravaganza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If that doesn\u2019t help, try reading aloud a different genre than normal. If picture books aren\u2019t your thing, maybe poetry would be fun. If poetry doesn\u2019t cut it, try nonfiction. If nonfiction is a no-go, try reading aloud plays and doing different voices for different characters. Just keep trying until you find something you can enjoy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. My child won\u2019t sit still.<\/strong><br \/> If every time you try to read aloud, your kid loses interest and runs off to do something else, you\u2019re going to get a complex real fast and think your kid isn\u2019t interested.<\/p>\n<p>Especially with active kids, listening is an acquired skill. But with a daily read-aloud habit, kids will learn how to listen. Remember that when you read aloud, you increase your child\u2019s ability to pay attention and concentrate \u2013 skills that will help your child in school and in life beyond school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Fix It:<\/strong> My third child is super active, so when she was younger I had to be creative with finding read-aloud time. Here are a few ideas for how to make it work:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ease your kids into read-aloud time with books that are designed just for active kids. Check out 12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Get the Wiggles Out<\/li>\n<li>Read at bedtime when kids are starting to calm down for sleep and are already tucked into bed<\/li>\n<li>Read aloud when you have a captive audience, like when your child is eating a meal or is in the bathtub<\/li>\n<li>Take your child to the park, plop them in the swing, then read while you push them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also, make sure your child is enjoying the books you\u2019re reading. If they\u2019re really into dinosaurs and you\u2019re reading about dump trucks, that could be the root of the issue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. I\u2019m tired.<\/strong><br \/> Most of us leave read-aloud time for bedtime, but if your kids\u2019 bedtime routine is anything like my kids\u2019, by the end of the day you\u2019re burned out. I don\u2019t want anyone touching me or asking me for one more thing, and I certainly don\u2019t feel like adding 20 more minutes to our already long and drawn out bedtime process.<\/p>\n<p>On nights I\u2019m particularly exhausted, I\u2019ve been known to skip pages if I think I can get away with it. (And it turns out, I\u2019m not alone in this.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Fix It:<\/strong> Try moving your read-aloud time earlier in the day. You could read while your kid eats breakfast or an afternoon snack, or during bathtime if you\u2019re not completely pooped by then.<\/p>\n<p>As another strategy, make sure you\u2019re reading a book out loud that you enjoy, too. If you\u2019re stuck reading the same picture books every night, try branching out to a chapter book you enjoyed as a kid or a new release you\u2019ve heard of. Or if you think you can swing it with your kid, try reading out loud from whatever book you\u2019re currently reading. Obviously you\u2019d need to skip over any kid-inappropriate bits, but maybe they\u2019ll go for it, and you can squeeze in a little reading before you\u2019re in bed yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/how-to-develop-reading-habit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to Develop a Reading Habit That Will Stick – 8 Steps<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/mh-posts-smart-004\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-004.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50399 alignnone size-full\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-004.jpg 640w, https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart-004-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>6. My kids are all different ages<\/strong><br \/> This can be tough. My kids are 10, 5, 3, and newborn. I can read a picture book to the younger three, but that leaves out the oldest. Or I can read a chapter book to the two big kids, but that leaves out the two little kids.<\/p>\n<p>How to Fix It: What I\u2019ve discovered is that my 10-year-old still enjoys listening to a good picture book, and I\u2019ve heard from other parents that even their teenagers still love hearing them read picture books out loud.<\/p>\n<p>But if your older child really isn\u2019t interested, try reading interesting magazine or newspaper articles out loud to her while she\u2019s eating or doing chores. You might say, \u201cHey, check this out! I thought you might like this\u2026\u201d And then just start reading.<\/p>\n<p>As another idea, you can read out loud to your older kids when the younger ones are in bed at night or while they\u2019re taking a nap.<\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/secret-phrase-better-student\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here\u2019s the Secret Phrase to Turn Your Kid Into an Amazing Student<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>7. My kid interrupts\u2026on every page<\/strong><br \/> Nobody likes to be interrupted \u2013 especially not when you\u2019re trying to do something for your child and she interrupts you.<\/p>\n<p>But as it turns out, kids asking questions during a book are an essential part of the learning process:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u201cThose of us who have seen a movie more than once fully realize how many subtleties escaped us the first time. This is even more the case with children and books. Because they\u2019re learning a complex language at the adult\u2019s speaking pace, there often are misunderstandings.\u201d<br \/> \u2013 The Read-Aloud Handbook<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Fix It:<\/strong> If your child\u2019s question is about the story itself, go ahead and answer it right away because odds are, your child isn\u2019t fully understanding what\u2019s happening and that\u2019s why she asked.<\/p>\n<p>If the question is tangential to the story or completely unrelated, try saying something like, \u201cOoh good question! At the end of the story, we\u2019ll talk about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Reading the same story over and over again is boring<\/strong><br \/> Yes, it is. It really, really is.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for us as parents, repeated readings of a book are exactly what your child needs in order to learn. They end up hearing the same words over and over again, which cements the vocabulary in their brain. Also, repeated readings help flush out any misunderstandings that are bound to happen when you\u2019ve been on this planet for such a small amount of time. (See above.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Fix It:<\/strong> If there\u2019s a book you truly hate, get rid of it. Or at least hide it most of the time. It does your child no good if you\u2019re gritting your teeth just to get through a book you hate. Better to spend 15 minutes reading something you enjoy than zero minutes reading because you can\u2019t stand a particular book. Find something you enjoy instead using this list of the best picture books.<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s a book you actually do think is alright but you just don\u2019t want to read it 72 times a day, try coming up with a rule for your house. For example, when I\u2019ve read the same book twice in one day, my kids know that book is done for the day. There\u2019s no shame in setting boundaries so the read-aloud experience can be enjoyable for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>And if you\u2019re still struggling, try keeping things fresh with every read-aloud of a repeat book. One time, you might read it with a Southern accent. Another time, you might read it while marching in place. (Make your kid do this too!) Or another time, you might lay upside down hanging off the couch to read it. When your sanity is at stake, feel free to be creative.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/raising-smart-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/happyyouhappyfamily.com\/raising-smart-kids\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ border_style_all=”none” animation_style=”slide”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” form_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” border_width_all=”2px” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” animation_style=”slide” hover_enabled=”0″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”50465″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” z_index_tablet=”500″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” z_index_tablet=”500″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-17T04:29:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-18T04:34:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"20 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"headline\":\"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T04:29:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3914,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-smart.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-smart.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T04:29:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-smart.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-smart.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":427},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\",\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"robthebuilder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/robthebuilder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” z_index_tablet=”500″ custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-17T04:29:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-18T04:34:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"robthebuilder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"robthebuilder","Est. reading time":"20 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/"},"author":{"name":"robthebuilder","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"headline":"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day","datePublished":"2019-06-17T04:29:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/"},"wordCount":3914,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg","articleSection":["News & Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/","name":"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-17T04:29:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-smart.jpg","width":640,"height":427},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/want-to-raise-smart-kind-kids-science-says-do-this-every-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Want to Raise Smart, Kind Kids? Science Says Do This Every Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8","name":"robthebuilder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"robthebuilder"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/robthebuilder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":50379,"date":"2019-06-17T03:42:43","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T03:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?p=50379"},"modified":"2019-06-18T04:34:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T04:34:50","slug":"let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/","title":{"rendered":"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.5″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”32px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right”]<\/p>\n<h2>Let your kids fail often. It\u2019s just good parenting<\/h2>\n<p>This article was first published at Essential Kids.<\/p>\n<p>It is perfectly natural for parents to want to protect their beloved children and keep them safe \u2013 heck it\u2019s a deep biological drive.<\/p>\n<p>Over time the social norms and expectations around children have softened and together with fear-based 24\/7 news cycles and the fear of litigation parents have become increasingly vigilant.<\/p>\n<p>One of the shifts that has occurred is the need to protect kids from failing.<\/p>\n<p>We seem less inclined to allow kids to explore and navigate their world without close supervision because they will make poor choices and possibly a mess!<\/p>\n<p>Young children especially are wired to explore, question and discover through their senses the wonder of life and often that may be perceived as a \u2018mistake\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Take the unravelling of toilet rolls \u2013 a fascinating exploration that explores many scientific hypotheses including gravity.<\/p>\n<p>Then there is emptying drawers of clothes, linen, plastics and anything they can find to practise emptying.<\/p>\n<p>These are all developmentally normal experiences not a sign of poor parenting or a naughty child.<\/p>\n<p>Technically, these small attempts could be seen as moments of failure. However, little kids are pretty cute and indeed many of these acts may be signs of potential toddler genius.<\/p>\n<p><strong>From explorer to failure<\/strong><br \/> However, something happens as our toddlers head towards the test-driven schooling system. Their attempts get labelled as mistakes. This term\u202f\u2013 which may have come from early archery meaning a \u2018miss take\u2019 where an arrow misses its target \u2013 becomes more sinister.<\/p>\n<p>So often children making mistakes and failing seems to become a reflection on one\u2019s parents rather than a normal part of childhood.<\/p>\n<p>Kids are kids, prone to making poor choices \u2013 dropping things, drawing on the wrong things with permanent marker, being selfish and struggling to share, having meltdowns, falling over, and having bumps and bruises while playing freely.<\/p>\n<p>This is totally normal and every moment can help build your child\u2019s capacity to overcome small mistakes and setbacks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The gift of resilience<\/strong><br \/> This helps build the important gift of resilience \u2013 something that has declined in recent times.<\/p>\n<p>When children are protected from failing or being disappointed \u2013 regardless if this comes from a place of love \u2013 it will come at a cost later in life when a moment of challenge or setback arrives (and it will).<\/p>\n<p>I often pinpoint the moment that the rules to pass-the-parcel changed as being a huge turn in the wrong direction to overprotecting kids from setbacks.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly, instead of having only one winner in this party game, it became \u201ceveryone gets a prize!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This well-intentioned action, aimed at protecting kids from being disappointed, has meant many children have seldom experienced disappointment.<\/p>\n<p>Learning what it feels like to lose or not get what you want is a part of becoming emotionally competent.<\/p>\n<p>To become emotionally buoyant we need to experience emotionally challenging moments, especially when we are younger before the limbic brain grows to be more influential.<\/p>\n<p>Returning pass the parcel back to its rightful position in early childhood \u2013 in a fun party environment \u2013 gives our kids a chance to know that while disappointment sucks \u2013 it is something we can learn to navigate with experience.<\/p>\n<p>Learning about losing and being disappointed when you sit for your first NAPLAN test has seen many students struggling with unnecessary stress and anxiety \u2013some returning to bedwetting, having nightmares, vomiting or even pulling eye lashes out.<\/p>\n<p>The only way to learn this incredibly important skill is by experiencing failure and leaning that it\u2019s not a sign we are defective, broken or wrong \u2013 we just made a poor choice or were unlucky.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly no app will give our child this valuable learning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learning to lose well<\/strong><br \/> The only way we can learn it is by losing and failing \u2013 over and over. Professor Carol Dweck in her book, Mindset, explores the difference between flexible and fixed mindsets and she encourages teaching our children that making mistakes and meeting the challenge of addressing failure are important.<\/p>\n<p>Kids need to play lots of games with others to learn about losing and winning \u2013 well. No-one ever enjoys losing or failing, however we can learn to manage it better.<\/p>\n<p>It is important that we validate the big ugly feelings that can come with feeling disappointed \u2013 and also encourage ways to soothe it.<\/p>\n<p>Simple card games and board games are a great starting point. As kids get older there\u2019s always hide and seek, beach cricket, tag, chasey and even good old noughts and crosses! Even experiences like flying kites can have valuable learning experiences because kites are notoriously badly behaved.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, nothing helps kids build resilience around failing better than playing often in Mother Nature \u2013 the unpredictability of nature lends itself to many moments of failure.<\/p>\n<p>Learning about the art of taking risks and recovering is not only exciting, it helps build confidence and courage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So please let your kids fail \u2013 it may be one of the most important parenting decisions you ever make.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”3.22.5″ border_style_all=”none” animation_style=”slide”]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” form_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ body_font=”||||||||” form_field_font=”||||||||” meta_font=”||||||||” border_width_all=”2px” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_font=”||||||||” animation_style=”slide” hover_enabled=”0″ button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#029431″ custom_margin=”|20%||20%||true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”50465″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-17T03:42:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"robthebuilder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"headline\":\"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T03:42:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1242,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-fail.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/\",\"name\":\"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-fail.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-17T03:42:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-fail.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/mh-posts-fail.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"description\":\"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8\",\"name\":\"robthebuilder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"robthebuilder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/imaginechildcare.com.au\\\/merewether-heights\\\/author\\\/robthebuilder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","og_description":"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” module_class=”free-background-overlay” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” custom_padding=”65px|10px|65px|10px|true|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_css_before=”background: rgba(255,255,255,0.78);” locked=”off” next_background_color=”#ffffff”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” custom_padding=”26px|0px|28px|0px” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” animation_style=”slide”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.22.5″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_font_size=”75px” title_font_size_phone=”60px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” title_letter_spacing=”1px” title_line_height=”1.1em” meta_font=”|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#000000″] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”32px|2px|0%|0px|false|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||50px|” custom_padding_phone=”40px||40px|” locked=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.22.5″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg” […]","og_url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/","og_site_name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-17T03:42:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"robthebuilder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"robthebuilder","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/"},"author":{"name":"robthebuilder","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"headline":"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting","datePublished":"2019-06-17T03:42:43+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/"},"wordCount":1242,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg","articleSection":["News & Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/","name":"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting - Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-17T03:42:43+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-18T04:34:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/mh-posts-fail.jpg","width":750,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/let-your-kids-fail-often-its-just-good-parenting\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Let Your Kids Fail Often. It\u2019s Just Good Parenting"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/","name":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","description":"Merewether Heights | Imagine Early Learning & Childcare","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/#\/schema\/person\/4a5b403b1c08f423e8f4356cb17fb7e8","name":"robthebuilder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e828c5705823f959b51389d216b8bb8162751e0d0b30ce277a59a72b0abe45f4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"robthebuilder"},"url":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/author\/robthebuilder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imaginechildcare.com.au\/merewether-heights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]