Creative Child

Rebecca Eanes

Rebecca Eanes is the bestselling author of multiple books including Positive Parenting: An Essential Guide, The Positive Parenting Workbook, and The Gift of a Happy Mother. She is the grateful mom of two boys. 

 

Articles by Rebecca

5 Ways to Teach a Child Empathy

Empathy is a key element in emotional intelligence. Teaching children emotional intelligence (a “person’s ability to identify, evaluate, control, and express emotions) has proven to be extremely important for social and academic achievement.

25 Less-Mess Sensory Play Activities

Sensory play has lots of great benefits for kids, but sometimes we don’t have the time or energy to clean up the big messes sensory play can make. I’ve rounded up 25 sensory activities that make little to no mess for you and your kids. Have fun!

Say Yes to the Mess – Benefits of Messy Play

Messy play is great for children’s development. It allows them to explore their senses, be creative, work on fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and so much more! Messy play can also calm anxiety. It can also help children regulate their emotions and express their feelings. Activities such as building with blocks or logs, creating sculptures, and engineering structures help kids build problem-solving skills and teaches cooperation. Creative play increases confidence and can help encourage independent play as well.

3 Important Benefits of Music in Our Schools

What do we hope for out of our education system? An education should make our children smarter, more confident, creative, and happy. It should enhance cognitive abilities and develop a well-rounded human being. So, why are so many school districts across the country scaling back or cutting out completely the one subject proven to do all those things?

One Sensible Rule for Limiting Screen Time

I recently gave my middle schooler a phone. I had intended to wait until high school, but with a big school field trip coming up and more time spent at friends’ houses, I knew I’d feel more at ease if we had a way to reach each other easily. Quickly, though, he developed the same problem that many of us suffer with today. His phone became attached to his hand.

The World Doesn’t Need Perfect Mothers

We are running ourselves ragged and worrying ourselves to pieces. We are doing too much and resting too little. The quest to be the mom who has it all together is a dangerous one, and it’s time we drop our masks and show our true faces.

Providing Children with Emotional Rest

My son walks out of the building dragging a heavy backpack, an overstuffed three-ring binder with a shoulder strap he never uses, a lunch box, and a water bottle. Because his hands are full, he struggles to get the door open to my vehicle. Finally, he manages it, and he unloads his things into the back seat and climbs in. He lets out an audible exhale as he buckles, and slumps into his seat, staring out the window.

How to Raise Kids Who Can Talk to You about Anything

We all hope for the kind of relationship with our children where they feel they can talk to us about anything. We hope they’ll run to us with their hopes, fears, problems, and dreams. However, getting them to open up isn’t always easy. Here are 7 powerful ways to ensure the communication lines will stay open.

The Incredible Gift of Loving Your Child “As Is”

I read a beautiful article today by Krista O’Reilly called How to Get Comfortable with the Discomfort of Parenting. In it, she discussed how her late mother loved her “as is” and what a gift that was to her. She said, “My mom saw me for the fullness of who I was and liked me. She didn’t try to change me or mold me into her image. She listened well and delighted in me.”

Alternatives to Grounding Your Pre-Teen

When children are little, positive parents focus on helping children learn about emotions and manage them through using time-ins, calming corners, and peace tables, but what happens when kids outgrow the calming corner?

5 Strategies for Helping Your Child Develop a Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck is a world-renowed psychologist at Stanford University. She has conducted decades of research on achievement and success, and her groundbreaking work on growth versus fixed mindset is sweeping the U.S. and U.K. Known as “the mindset revolution,” parents and educators are setting out to teach children how to develop a growth mindset. But what exactly does that mean?

Family Fun: New Year’s Eve Countdown Activities

Our New Year’s Eve countdown is one of my very favorites. I generally start the festivities at 6 p.m. That gives us plenty of time to complete several activities before the ball drops at midnight. I hope you’ll give this fun countdown a try this year – it may become your new favorite tradition as well.

This is Parenthood

They tell you that time flies and to enjoy it all you can, and yet in the midst of sleep deprivation, 3 a.m. feedings, and endless diapers, it feels like it will last forever. You wonder how time can possibly fly when one night drags on so very long.

Kid-Made Christmas – 10 Ornaments and Decorations

I have very few ornaments on my Christmas tree that came from a store. Most of them were made by my kids, and while my tree may not be displayed on the front of a magazine for its beauty, it’s filled with special memories that I will always cherish.

The Children are Crying Out. Who is Listening?

Something is happening with our children, and we need to stop and pay attention. They are crying out. Suicide rates for young children are climbing, and the number of beautiful souls we are losing every year is alarming. In children ages 5 to 13, one dies by suicide every 5 days.

Presence over Presents: A Holiday Invitation

In a corner of my living room stands a twinkling tree with a bright star atop. Underneath, the presents are far fewer than last year because we made an agreement as a family earlier this year – we decided we’d enjoy more experiences and less things. We (okay, mostly I) wanted memories over materials in 2017, and so we went to amusement parks, concerts, conventions, and plays. Still, there are toys under my tree this year, and I count my blessings as I put each wrapped gift in its place. How much longer will there be toys underneath my Christmas tree?

Hygge through the Holidays

Would you like a cozier, happier holiday season in 2017? I think it would be a much needed ending to what could surely be described as a crazy year here in America. “Hustle and bustle” is the American way of holidays, but what if we looked to our happy friends in Denmark (the happiest country in the world in 2016 and second happiest in 2017 while the U.S. was ranked 13th and 14th respectively) to learn a fresh way to do the holidays?

25 Days of Christmas Giving, Simple Giving Activities for Children

The Holiday Season is upon us again, and I’m going to start a new family tradition. I’d like to take my kids’ focus off of getting and onto giving for a few minutes each day. To do this, I’m going to stuff an extra slip of paper into our advent wall calendar. Normally, each pocket holds a fun family activity drawn from this list. This year, each pocket will also include a giving activity – either giving time, giving from the heart, lending a hand, or giving a material item. I want my children to understand that they are spreaders of kindness and cheer, not merely receivers of it. I want to empower them to make a positive difference in the world and teach them that every human, no matter how old or how small, can make a big impact! Here’s what I’m writing on our slips of paper.

Behavior is Communication – Are You Listening?

When my firstborn son was three, he began acting defiant and out of sorts. What I saw then as a call for discipline I soon learned was a call for connection. He was telling me, through his actions, that he was feeling bad inside. More recently, when he began coming straight home from middle school and going to his room, I immediately knew he was communicating something to me. What many disregard as tween attitude is really a call for help. My boy was overwhelmed with new teachers, a new schedule, and the social pressures of middle school. He was anxious, worried, and feeling less confident. Had I not recognized his behavior as a signal, I would have likely made things worse by remarking on his withdrawal and attitude.

50 Fun Snow Day Activities

I feel like we skipped autumn completely in my neck of the woods. Last week it was 84 degrees, today it’s 44 and we are expecting snow flurries in a few days. All too soon, the white stuff will cover our lawns. There’s nothing quite so satisfying to a child’s heart as waking up to see the snow flying and hearing that school has been canceled! However, kids do get restless after a few hours of boredom so here are 50 fun ideas to keep them entertained.
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