Don’t be a helicopter parent. Kids will develop more confidence in their own problem-solving abilities if they get a chance to figure things out themselves.Don’t negotiate with terrorists. It’s okay for a child to be frustrated, but it’s not okay for a parent to give in every time a child shows the slightest displeasure about something.
Keep a regular schedule. Kids thrive on regularity, and if the days are usually the same then it’s extra fun when something special happens.
Parent on a budget. Too many toys are over-stimulating, and kids won’t appreciate them. Even if you do have a lot of toys, put most of them away and rotate them out…so old toys feel like new toys.
But don’t overschedule. Kids need time to be creative and make up their own activities without defaulting to the easy way out, which is staring at an electronic device.
To read our September 2013 cover interview with Bethenny Frankel, click here.
