Ages and stages

Knowing a little bit about the developmental stages of your child can help you figure out what’s really going on. 

It’s important we know what to expect of our kids – when we expect too much or too little it can be hard for them to feel any real sense of achievement.  They either can’t do it (we’re expecting too much) or they can do it without really needing to try (we’re expecting too little).

Sometimes developmental stages hit really fast – you thought you knew what you were doing, and then you don’t!  Other times it’s a lot slower, which gives you time to transition your parenting. 

For little ones aged 0 to 5 we love this summary of the stages from Family Day Care:

For more about these developmental stages, and those right up to 18 years, we love the summary from Parent Help. 

We know that many parents are a tad baffled by teenage stages.  If you’re keen to understand more about this ‘time’, we love the work Brainwave Trust does around ‘unravelling the adolescent brain’.  

Visit their website to check out their research on this, and/or attend one of their brilliant seminars.

It’s important to know that ‘stages’ don’t magically happen once a child turns a certain age - there’s lots and lots of variability!

And it’s also worth bearing in mind that our children’s brains aren’t really fully developed until around age 24.  Yes, we did say 24! 

Parenting Groups

Sometimes the best thing to do to get a handle on what’s going on for your child or their behaviour is to attend a parenting group.  Just like the antenatal class you probably attended in order to prepare for birth, parenting courses take you through the next parts of the parenting journey, especially when things are feeling tricky.  

Parenting courses are no different to antenatal courses.  You’ll:

• Have your worries normalised.  We promise!
  
• Make friendships with parent of kids the same age as yours.
  
• Gain some great new ideas in terms of parenting.
  
• Know what to expect in each age and stage.
  
• Have access to a professional who will love your questions.
  
• And just have some time for you investing in what you really want to do well.
  

Click here for the best-est parenting groups and courses in Greater Christchurch.