Extraordinary Parenting Quotes

“When we adopt an unconditionally positive attitude towards our children — parenting them without trying to change them — we allow them the freedom and emotional safety to try new things, make mistakes, and take risks.”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home

“Take a balanced attitude to risk-taking and childhood independence. Many children now are discouraged from taking even small risks, and not given much independence at all; this is something I often witness in playgrounds or at the park, with children chided for getting mud on their hands or for climbing ‘too high’ up a climbing frame. The amount of risk children can be safely exposed to will, of course, vary, depending on age and ability — I’m not suggesting you let your young child cross the road by themselves, or allow your thirteen-year-old to go backpacking alone — but there are many benefits to risky play thar allows children to assess danger for themselves, something they will need to learn to do eventually.”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home

“But let them work problems out on their own. This can start early in life, by giving even very young children the space and trust to try moving through conflict to a resolution themselves; for example, watching from a close distance without getting involved as your young child gets into an argument at the playground, or giving siblings some room to work out disagreements by themselves. We are often quick to jump in and solve our children’s problems for them — I can certainly empathise with this urge — but having the chance to try to fix problems and get it wrong sometimes is key if children are to develop resilience.”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home

“Coach them through challenging situations … If they are having a tough time, don’t ignore their reality and tell them everything is fine; instead, gently guide them to take a more nuanced view, asking them questions about how they might be able to face the problem themselves or how they would like your support.”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home

“Avoid labels. Labelling children as smart, naughty, clever, sensitive, lazy, messy, grumpy, etc. can make them start to believe those statements are true. Even if the words you use are positive — i.e. ‘clever’ — they can actually hinder growth, as the child feels their character is fixed. As a parent, you might consider saying, ‘I can see that you worked really hard at this picture,’ rather than, ‘You’re a natural artist.”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home

“don’t need studies to tell us that if a child experiences consistent emotional support and care, they are more likely to be inclined towards friendly, kind, and considerate behaviour; as parents, we have seen that our children are like little sponges, soaking up our words, behaviour, and mannerisms (most parents will recognise the horror of having our bad language or habits reflected back at us by our sweet children!).”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home

“My bones will always love your bones.”
― Eloise Rickman, Extraordinary Parenting: the essential guide to parenting and educating at home