Aster Audrey Nikki

GOAL STATEMENT

The goal of this project is to relieve anxiety in parents by understanding their children as individuals. All parents are scared and anxious about raising children. The problem with the current culture of being a parent is parents often ask the question, “I am parenting right?” Our goal is to give parents a different perspective when they are worried about whether they are parenting right. It is not about asking what I am doing right or wrong. It is about asking what my child needs in order to thrive and develop into their best self. By providing the child with their individual needs and a comfortable and safe environment to explore and play, all children will thrive.

Crowd Sourcing

What would make you feel more confident being a parent?

Making sure my child was happy and healthy.
Support from family and friends.
You never really truly feel completely confident.
Not being judged on how you parent.

How did you gain confidence being a parent?

Over time and having a good routine.
YouTube videos.
Time. Time to get used to the fact that things never happen the way you expected but it will be OK one way or another.
Watching your child grow and seeing how they develop and mature.

What do you wish you could tell your new-parent self?

It gets easier and passes quickly. Enjoy them being little.
Everything will be fine; just enjoy the process. You are doing fine!
Relax because you have less control than you think. Open opportunities for development and growth, but the developing and growing part is depending on the kid and not you. One of the biggest mistakes for a parent is not allowing their child to make mistakes and suffer through them then solve the mistakes.

Don't be afraid to say no!

How do you feel about the current ‘parenting’ narrative?

Every child is different. I think you need to do what you think is right for your child.
Every family is unique so there is no one way to be a parent.
More shared opinions and experiences are good, however, all parenting books should have a disclaimer that books are guides and not a doctrine because no one child is the same as another. There is no best way to do anything, but there is a better way to do a certain thing than not. Sometimes making mistakes is the only way we learn.
I don't agree with everything. Parents have a responsibility to society to teach their children about social responsibility and at the same time self-accountability, amongst other things. Parents need to take responsibility to be a responsible influence on their children.
There is a lot of judgment where there shouldn't be because different things work for different people.

Week 1

Mommy Wars and Anxiety

The mommy wars, an issue caused by pop culture and our capitalist culture. With the massive amounts of parenting books, mommy blogs, and a massive amount of parenting advice being thrown around, the massive amount of information is causing anxiety in parents. Something that we hope to remind parents with this phase of the project is to remember, don’t ask “Am I doing this right?” and instead ask, “What does my kid need?”

Video

Week 2

Children as Individuals

Dandelion vs Orchid children - They do have many differences in their temperament as well as how they regulate their emotions, but when given the right support and opportunities, both types can learn to thrive. We also want to remind parents through our infographic and podcast that either way, their kids will turn out just fine and they are doing just fine. We also hope to remind them that every kid is different and still great in their own ways.

Podcast

Dandelion or Orchid.pdf

Week 3

The Power of play.pdf

The Power of Play

The power of play is an important part of childhood and the way kids play is constantly changing with the times. Regardless of whether kids play outside or play video games with social aspects to it, this can help them learn how to integrate themselves into the social world as well as teach them things of importance such as executive function. By allowing kids to play and learn these skills on their own, parents may have less anxiety as their kids go into school due to learned social skills and all of the mental skills that go along with executive function.

Podcast

About the Authors

Nikki Alensonorin

Hometown: Waipahu, HI

Year: Senior

Major: Psychology

Audrey Tran

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

Year: Junior

Major: Psychology

Aster Allen

Hometown: Spokane, WA

Year: Junior

Major: Psychology

References

Week 1:

Fass, P. (2018, March 20). There Used to Be Consensus on How to Raise Kids. The Atlantic Monthly. https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/03/america-new-dr-spock/555311/

Gopnik, A. (2016, August 9). Introduction: The Parent Paradoxes. The Gardner And The Carpenter: What The New Science Of Child Development Tells Us About The Relationship Between Parents And Children (1st ed., pp. 3-18). Faraar, Straus & Giroux.

Gopnik, A. (2016, August 9). Against Parenting. The Gardner And The Carpenter: What The New Science Of Child Development Tells Us About The Relationship Between Parents And Children (1st ed., pp. 19-34). Faraar, Straus & Giroux.

Gopnik, A. (2016, August 9). The Evolution of Childhood. The Gardner And The Carpenter: What The New Science Of Child Development Tells Us About The Relationship Between Parents And Children (1st ed., pp. 35-36). Faraar, Straus & Giroux.

Siegler, R., Saffran, J. R., Gershoff, E. T., & Eisenberg, N. (2020). The Family. How Children Develop (6th ed., pp. 424-457). Worth Publishers Macmillan Learning.

Week 2:

Davies, D. (2019, March 14). Is Your Child An Orchid Or A Dandelion? Unlocking The Science Of Sensitive Kids. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/04/699979387/is-your-child-an-orchid-or-a-dandelion-unlocking-the-science-of-sensitive-kids

Dobbs, D. (2009, December). The Science of Success. The Atlantic Monthly. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/12/the-science-of-success/307761/

Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227

Siegler, R., Saffran, J. R., Gershoff, E. T., & Eisenberg, N. (2020). Emotional Development. How Children Develop (6th ed., pp. 352-388). Worth Publishers Macmillan Learning.

Week 3:

Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007, November 30). Preschool Program Improves Cognitive Control. Science, 318(5855): 1387-1388. 10.1126/science.1151148

Holman, C. (2019, September 25). Cass Holeman: Design For Play. Abstract: The Art of Design. Netflix.

Glass, I. (1996, June 21). Human Nature, The View From Kindergarten. The Cruelty of Children. The American Life. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/27/the-cruelty-of-children

Siegler, R., Saffran, J. R., Gershoff, E. T., & Eisenberg, N. (2020). Peer Relationships. How Children Develop (6th ed., pp. 458-487). Worth Publishers Macmillan Learning.

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