At Little Sunshine House we hold parent meetings and throughout the year host parenting groups that may meet to discuss a topic such as setting limits, discipline, toilet learning . . . . . We welcome your suggestions on topics throughout the year.
Childcare is provided for a $5 fee. Children enjoy spending extra time with one of are staff and participating in the children's activities.
The research related article below is an example of the philosophy and approach that we take to supporting parenting.
Discipline Exchange 2007
David Elkind's observations on discipline as noted in the Exchange article, "Instructive Discipline is Built on Understanding" …
"My
dictionary gives two major definitions for the term discipline. One of
these is 'training that develops self control, character or orderliness,
and efficiency.' The other is, 'treatment that corrects and punishes.'
These definitions start from two quite different conceptions of the
child and of child rearing. The first begins with the idea that children
are born neither social nor anti-social and have to be trained to acquire
the rules and routines of healthy interpersonal exchange. In contrast,
the other definition starts off with the idea that children come into the
world with anti-social pre-dispositions (original sin, if you will) that
have to be extinguished. One idea of child rearing and discipline is,
therefore, instructive; it is a matter of teaching children social
skills and attitudes. The other conception of child rearing and
discipline is punitive, a matter of stamping out misbehavior
through punishment.
"The difference in our starting conceptions of
discipline is important because it determines how we look at, and
treat, what we as adults label misbehavior. First of all, and most
importantly, when we view discipline as a learning experience we
will look at so-called misbehavior as an opportunity for instruction.
Secondly, we will also appreciate that discipline presents a creative
challenge for which there are no ready-made solutions, only a number of
possibilities. Finally, when we view discipline as a teaching moment,we
will also appreciate that children learn differently at different age
levels and that we need to adjust our instruction accordingly. We cannot
teach infants and young children about prejudice in the same way that
we would approach this issue with adolescents. Instructive discipline is
developmentally appropriate."
