The 5’s – what they are, how to do them, why they help to calm baby
Key Takeaways
The 5’s – have to be done exactly right, sequentially
Swaddling – tighter than you think is comfortable
Side / Stomach – babies can feel like they’re falling if they are on their back so the side or stomach can be a much more calming way to hold them
Shhhh – louder than you think is comfortable
Swinging – must be done faster than you think. This will also be the first S you’ll wean at around 2-3 months of age
Sucking – pacifiers should only be given when the baby is calm and when baby starts to suck, lightly tug on it. This will be the second S to be weaned
Babies should really be in the womb another couple months so the baby’s first 3 months after birth can be thought of as the “4th trimester.” You want to mimic the conditions, sounds, temperature, etc. as closely as possible to make them feel comfortable and cozy.
Hold them, dance, rock, wrap, white noise, car rides, walk outside, feeding, pacifiers, swings
Don’t be worried about spoiling them, they need the confidence and comfort that you are there to take care of them – you’ll be able to easily wean them off
A cry is not always meant to convey a message
Colic simply a result of cessation of womb 3 months early
Reduce SIDS
Only let baby sleep on the back
Breastfeed if you can
Don’t smoke, drink, or use drugs
Don’t overheat
Use snug swaddles
Offer a pacifier at bedtime
Never sleep with your baby on a couch or waterbed
If you choose to bed share, always use a co-sleeper attachment to keep your baby protected
Remove pillows, toys, bumpers, and think or loose bedding that could cause smothering
Practice tummy time to help your baby develop strong muscles to move away from choking risks
10 Red Flags
Persistent moaning
Supershrill cry
Vomiting (green or yellow vomit and more than one ounce per episode and more than 5 per day)
Change in stool (especially blood)
Fussing during eating
Abnormal temperature (more than 100.2 or less than 97)
Irritability
Lethargy
Bulging soft spot on the head
Poor weight gain
Top 10 Survival Tips
Trust yourself
Lower your expectations
Accept all the help you can get
Get your priorities straight
Be flexible – it’s much better to bend than snap
Know thyself – how do your baby’s cries make you feel
Don’t rock the cradle too hard
Keep your sense of humor handy
Take care of your spouse
Don’t ignore depression
What I got out of it
The 5’s haven’t worked for us too well yet but the sequence is good to know and it had some other good parenting tips
Spirituality is an untapped tool for human development, fulfillment, happiness, success. With this, children can learn how to connect with others and better deal with difficult situations. The author aims to map spiritual development from kids to adolescents and show what a pivotal role parents play
Key Takeaways
Spirituality differs from religion and that it is a feeling of being connected to a higher power, whatever that might be for you whereas religion is more specific in what you are connected to. An authentic and personal relationship with the higher power is far more important than the specifics
Spiritual children are 40% less likely to abuse substances, 60% less likely to be depressed, less likely to be susceptible to other types of deviant behavior and more likely to thrive and finding meaning, purpose, and higher levels of academic success
Kids are naturally empathetic, curious, open, caring, loving, and optimistic. It is only through time and for education that they lose these things.
The 6 spiritual strengths – trusting heart-knowing, validating direct transcendent experience, encouraging natural love of nature, ritual of meditation and prayer, sense of family as special, and belief in right action. These spiritual strengths and mindset will help with feeling connected and grounded, giving meaning to life. This will greatly help with depression and loneliness too
Opportunities to grow spirituality
Engage honestly and authentically with your child. Give your approval and encourage them
Use spiritual language daily – direct knowing, inner compass, connection, heart knowing
Share own spiritual experiences transparently with your children
Connect with your kids and meet them where they are
Build a spiritual practice as a family – Sunday night meditation, Shabbat dinner, other rituals
Embrace relationships with everyone and all of nature – we are all one
Express the sanctity of family and how grateful you are to be part of it. You are an inter-generational self, part of a long line within your family, not separate or above, part of something larger than yourself
Strive to live an inspired life. Set a high standard, love others, see transcendence in each moment
What I got out of it
A decent book (far too long and ended up skimming most of it) on the importance of spirituality in a child’s life and how to go about nurturing it
Esther’s parenting style can be summed up with TRICK – trust, respect, independence, collaboration and kindness. This is the style she used to raise her 3 very successful children
Key Takeaways
Trust
Never dismiss kid’s thoughts or ideas just because they’re kids. Listen to them and respect them
Trust yourself and trust your kids. Lack of trust in our society creates anxiety and stress and this is passed onto our kids
The majority of people are trustworthy and you want to instill this into your kids
You need to start instilling trust in your baby as soon as they’re born. Respond to them and give them what they need so that they learn to trust you and their environment. Trust that they can put themselves to sleep. Comfort them and be with them when they cry or whimper, but you don’t always need to pick them up – just pat them on their stomachs when they’re lying on their back’s and give them a chance to soothe themselves. Kids learn to self soothe if you give them a chance to learn how. You want them to want to be with you and not to need to be with you
Always ask yourself if what you’re doing is building and establishing trust or breaking it down
Children need to take risks in order to learn, grow, and find their boundaries. Don’t instill your fears and biases in them – let them learn for themselves
Kids will break your trust at some point – it is just part of life and you must hold them accountable but you can do so in a good-humored way so as not to rupture the relationship
You have to trust that you’ve taught your kids well and you can’t control them. Let them make their own decisions and become their own people
Parents need to calm down! Kids have their own timeline and will do it (whatever “it” is) when they’re ready. Obsessing and worrying about it won’t help anyone
Respect
Respect means living it out. You have to model it every day and in every interaction
Never force subjects or hobbies on your kids. Find a way to get them self-motivated or into something else. Respect what your children are drawn to and let them pursue those interests. Don’t push what you want for them but make sure they’re always doing something outside of school
Avoid baby talk – treat kids like adults as soon as possible, trust and respect them.
Ages 0-5 are the most important socially and developmentally. Use them to help them become independent kids and later independent and empowered adults
You have to respect kid’s timelines but when they’re doing nothing, such as when they graduate from college, you have to get them moving. Six months free rent is fine but they can’t be doing nothing
Feeling respected as a human being is an innate want and when you don’t get it, it leads to fear, isolation, and distance between parent and child
Independence
Financial independence is of utmost importance to instill. Teach compound interest and the power of paying off credit cards every month. Travel and education should get the highest priority and spend
Don’t do anything for your children that they can do themselves
Practice the “French Pause” when your child wakes up in the middle of the night. Before rushing out and soothing your child, give them a minute to see if they self soothe. If not, go in and comfort them but this helps them learn how to soothe themselves and sleep without needing you there
Temper trap tantrums are about control and, depending on the context and what they want, sometimes you should give it to them. About 20% of the time let them dress themselves or put on their own shoes or do what they’re asking. This will help give them a sense of accomplishment and help them learn
Your kid’s homework is their work. Give them advice if they ask for it but never do it for them
Always give children a job that this theirs and theirs alone
Give them certain freedoms like decorating their own rooms
Shopping is a great way to teach. Help your kids understand what a budget it, how to select groceries, how to put back products if you’re over budget, etc
It is really important for kids to see you feel and know that you don’t know everything. Admit when you messed up. react to it, well and show that failing is a huge and important part of learning
Collaboration
Collaborate > Dictate
Cooperating with adults helps empowers kids and shows them that they can problem solve on their, own giving them confidence and independence
Build a mutually beneficial relationship which helps deepen the relationship and build agency
Give options rather than dictating. Red or blue sweater? Rather than do you want to wear a sweater
Get kids involved in chores, budgets, questions, planning, and decision making. This makes them feel valued. For example, ask them how they would regulate phone usage and that what they determine should be implemented
Having a big group of friends and playing sports greatly help children learn how to collaborate
Guide and support their decisions rather than telling them what to do
Important to have kids reflect and express their feelings. Can sit alone and think, write, or draw
Kindness
Kindness and gratitude are often overlooked. A self-centered view of the world is harmful and also takes away some of the major joys in life – helping others
10 Commandments for Techs
Set up a plan with your kids, not for your kids
No phones during meals – in your house or other’s
No tech after bedtime
Show kids younger than 5 the basics and how to use a phone in case of an emergency
Children should come up with their own tech policies for weekends, vacation, or other social events. Must also choose a penalty for breaking own policy
Parental controls can be important, but after 8 they need to develop their own self-restraint. If they break your trust, the parental control switches back on
Parents should model how they expect their kids to behave around technology
Discuss what pictures/audio/video are appropriate to take – sometimes kids lack common sense. Remind them of the digital footprint they’re leaving behind
Explain cyber-bullying and its negative impact, on them and others. Laugh with your friends, not at them
Teach kids not to give out personal identification information
Other
Teach kids how not to procrastinate – be effective and learn to do things immediately
Must examine own biases and flaws so we don’t pass onto our kids If we don’t like me to pass on errors in how our parents raised us
Book provides a series of questions that help you when your partner determine how you were raised and what values you want to pass on at which you don’t. Being on the same page and understanding and accepting your partner and their parenting style
Your goal is not to create a stress free or hardship free childhood. Rather, you want to instill your kids with character, traits, and independence of mind – to be able to face problems head-on and make sound decisions. If you can teach them how to think and be self-aware, you have done your job as a parent
Establishing good habits from the start is much easier than trying to break bad ones later
Kids learn more from how you handle your own mistakes and how you react than everything you talk about
Asking “why” is so important to kids – Encourage them to always ask “why” by answering them seriously and honestly. If you don’t know, tell them “let’s find out.” This fuels their creativity, innovative thinking, independence, and more. 98% of kids have “genius-level creativity” but it slowly is removed through our education system. Only 2% of adults hold onto it.
Creativity flows from play. Let them be and they’ll create their own worlds and keep themselves happy and occupied. Play with them and get down on their level, enter their worlds. Play and imagination is extremely important as it gets them to be able to step into another person‘s shoes building their compassion and empathy for others
The ultimate goal as a teacher, parent, leader, is to make yourself obsolete. Point them to ideas of their own, teach them to think for themselves. Help and facilitate but never take over.
Instill grit (passion, conscientiousness, gratitude, delayed gratification, perseverance) into your kids. You can’t choose your circumstances, but you can choose your reactions and work ethic
Learning how to deal with boredom and embracing it is vital
Solve arguments and discussions in front of kids so they see that it is ok to disagree and also how to problem solve together
Show that punctuality is important, as is clothing and appearance, how you treat others, cleaning up after yourself, having a healthy relationship with tech, how you manage health, stress, and exercise, ability to listen and discuss controversial topics and ideas, avoiding cursing and yelling as you can teach them inadvertently that this is an OK way to communicate with others, how you handle adversity and failure, ability to admit you’re wrong and forgive
The most important skill parents model are successful interpersonal relationships
Personal space, privacy, and relationships outside the family are important to keep top of mind and consistent
Encourage your kids to write thank you cards and to journal at the end of the day since this helps to reflect and express gratitude
Instill a sense of service, connection and an others-focused mentality so that your kids learn how to give back see that not everything is about them, building deep, meaningful relationships
What I got out of it
One of my favorite books so far on parenting. The TRICK mindset is an invariant strategy, useful not only for kids, but any relationship.
The ‘cognitive solution’ is an understated but pervasive illusion that cognition is the most important factor in succeeding in life. This book argues that other skills such as persistence, curiosity, grit, self control, social skills, and delayed gratification are actually the building blocks for a successful life
Key Takeaways
Stress, especially chronic stress, is extremely damaging mentally, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. Students to go through stress early on or showing to have greater chances of disease or risky behavior
Stable relationships and attachments in the child’s early life is extremely important in their social, cognitive, and emotional development. High-quality parenting can go a long way in reducing the effects of stress and it’s downstream effects. Attachment theory shows that parent who respond quickly and sensitively raise independent and confident kids. Safe, secure, stable, nurturing, and sensitive relationships early on has important and long lasting impacts and benefits
In the marshmallow test (a test showing short vs. long term gratification), they found that the students who are able to abstract the marshmallows and think of them as “fluffy clouds” instead of a delicious treats were able to hold off the longest and show the most self control.
Motivation and volition are to central elements to self control
The only way to grow and learn is to try something where you have a legitimate chance of failing and this is where most privileged families hurt their children.
Rules are metacognitive substitutes to will power. It is much easier and more effective to have a rule saying, “I will not eat donuts” than relying on will power
Habits and rules go a long way in predicting and controlling behavior. Good habits and positive rules make up for a lot
The importance in believing in a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset cannot be overstated. If kids believe that intelligence, character, and behavior are malleable and within their control, it improves nearly every area of their life
When raising a child, balance cognitive tasks and the social and character traits that have been discussed in this book. Help your child socialize successfully, be able to fail and get back up, and be there for them to support them and encourage them in tough times. Do not over protect your child, expose them to manageable stress to help them grow, and they will develop the resilience needed to be successful at life
One of the best things you can do for a child give them a stable home relationship support and unconditional love
