Every Thursday at 2pm ET MomsRising’s #EarlyEdChat guests on Twitter share information on a great topic in early childhood education. Last week’s topic was how to spend quality family time AND how we can make time for ourselves. It was a great chat with a lot of talented panelists.
The #EarlyEdChat panel for this chat consisted of a great panel:
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Julie Morgenstern, @JulieMorgenstrn, time management/organization expert and NY Times Bestselling Author
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Brigid Schulte, @BrigidSchulte, Bestselling Author and Director of the Better Life Lab at New America
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Claire Lerner, @ZerotoThree; Senior Parenting Advisor, Zero to Three
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Dr. Benard Dreyer, @BenardDreyer, Pediatrician and immediate past president of AAP
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Simon Isaacs, @SimonIsaacs, Founder of Fatherly
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Susy Kremer, @2SmalltoFail, Too Small to Fail
The chat highlighted some points that sometimes we forget and the experts shed light on some things that (in the frenzy of every day life) we don’t think about.
Here are some highlights of the tweet chat! For the full chat you can see the Storify here.
Human connections are so important!
A3.2 Research has shown that quality connections are as essential a nutrient to human development as food. #EarlyEdChat
— Benard Dreyer, MD (@BenardDreyer) May 11, 2017
Quality time helps both parents and children.
A4.2 Actually quality time is a reward to the parent as well. #EarlyEdChat
— Benard Dreyer, MD (@BenardDreyer) May 11, 2017
Of course, the topic of paid leave came up… because how can we start a good foundation for the relationship with our children when we unfortunately must leave them so young?
The USA is the unfriendliest nation to families on this planet. We are so behind.
This is so true 🙁 We need #paidleave so parents can form connections with their new babies from day one! #EarlyEdChat https://t.co/qf95Rxt10h
— ZERO TO THREE (@ZEROTOTHREE) May 11, 2017
A4.1 I personally measure the quality of the time I spend by asking myself if I have 1 memorable moment each day with my kid #EarlyEdChat
— Simon Isaacs (@simonisaacs) May 11, 2017
Inflexible hours and work environments hurt our family quality time.
A5.1 We live in an era of overparenting, overdoing, shuttling kids. Hard to connect when you're all overprogrammed and stressed #EarlyEdChat
— Brigid Schulte (@BrigidSchulte) May 11, 2017
A5.3 What gets in the way of quality time? Inflexible, demanding work environments, the absence of policies to support families #EarlyEdChat
— Brigid Schulte (@BrigidSchulte) May 11, 2017
I loved this… Marianna from Bilingual Avenue shared how just 10 minutes a day can make a difference in our children’s lives.
A3. Just 10 mins a day of unplugged time between parent & child has a tremendous impact on a child's vocabulary development #earlyedchat
— Marianna Du Bosq (@bilingualavenue) May 11, 2017
We were reminded that quality time is not about quantity:
A4.2 It’s not about huge chunks of time. Kids have short attention spans, so 7-20 mins several times a day goes a long way #EarlyEdChat
— Julie Morgenstern (@JulieMorgenstrn) May 11, 2017
A3.3 Our interactions now plant the seeds for future relationships and interactions. We want those to be quality! #earlyedchat
— Lydia M. Bowers (@LydiaMBowers) May 11, 2017
A4.1 Instead of quantity, focus on quality and reliability. Kids thrive on consistency. #EarlyEdChat
— Julie Morgenstern (@JulieMorgenstrn) May 11, 2017
A4.1 I personally measure the quality of the time I spend by asking myself if I have 1 memorable moment each day with my kid #EarlyEdChat
— Simon Isaacs (@simonisaacs) May 11, 2017
A4 More than the quantity of time you spend w/ your child, it’s the connection & the quality of your interactions that matter #EarlyEdChat
— Too Small to Fail (@2SmallToFail) May 11, 2017
Those quality moments have a great impact on social-emotional development of our children:
Social-emotional development is so crucial! #EarlyEdChat https://t.co/AeKcXInAhV
— ZERO TO THREE (@ZEROTOTHREE) May 11, 2017
We are reminded that small moments count!
This guy clearly gets the power of bonding with his kid. #EarlyEdChat pic.twitter.com/HMJgfkdNcz
— Simon Isaacs (@simonisaacs) May 11, 2017
Dr. Dreyer says if you’re wondering if you’re spending quality time with your little one, you probably are on the right track… those are great words that keep me motivated!
A4.3 So if you are wanting to spend more time with your child, then you are on the right track! #EarlyEdChat
— Benard Dreyer, MD (@BenardDreyer) May 11, 2017
Brigid Schulte had great advice: Embrace the ordinary!
A4.3 Many parents feel stressed they don't spend enough time with kids. Make the most of what you do have. Embrace the ordinary #EarlyEdChat
— Brigid Schulte (@BrigidSchulte) May 11, 2017
Julie Morgenstern is a time management and organization expert and reminds us that we must set limits on phone and computer use.
Putting boundaries on your phone/computer use is critical for your health and bonding with your kids. #EarlyEdChathttps://t.co/D6w2eoJhCW
— Julie Morgenstern (@JulieMorgenstrn) May 15, 2017
This is so true, even when we think they are not watching… they are watching and listening to EVERYTHING we say and do!
A6.4 Kids learn by watching what you do. Being a role model for self care can prepare kids for life as a healthy, happy adult. #EarlyEdChat
— Julie Morgenstern (@JulieMorgenstrn) May 11, 2017
DELEGATING as much as possible so you can free time up for quality time with our children, that’s what I do!
YES YES YES I delegate and outsource as much as I can! And i'm not afraid to ask for help, it takes a village #EarlyEdChat https://t.co/ILPVU4ATaB
— Diana aka LadydeeLG (@dianalimongi) May 11, 2017
What keeps parents away from quality time? SCREENS!! Tablets, phones and more!
A5.3 Technology & screens disconnect people. Ban devices during quality time = love the one you’re with https://t.co/Nhkjz8UxPN #EarlyEdChat
— Julie Morgenstern (@JulieMorgenstrn) May 11, 2017
Every moment can be a special time for bonding with our kids!
#EarlyEdChat the ride to and from school is a precious time for us. Sometimes just talking and even just singing together #MadresConectadas
— Gianny Liranzo (@Madresconectada) May 11, 2017
Quality time isn’t about quantity it is about the quality of the moments we spend, how invested we are.
MORE ISN'T NECESSARILY BETTER. 45 mins of time with your child and 15 to yourself to recharge can be better than 1HR w yr child #earlyedchat
— Claire Lerner (@clairejlerner) May 11, 2017
A8: it's not about doing 'more things' as a parent, it's about making the most of the things you do! #earlyedchat
— Helen Barahal (@hbarahal) May 11, 2017
We must not put ourselves last!
A6.1 Parents are in a time bind, trying to squeeze it all in. They often put themselves last ==> exactly the wrong thing to do #EarlyEdChat
— Brigid Schulte (@BrigidSchulte) May 11, 2017
@MomsRising A6 One of our writers @ProjMotherhood suggests a self-care budget #earlyedchat https://t.co/A9uY0Ojal1
— Margaret W Johnson (@mwjohnso) May 11, 2017
The importance of parent self-care — crucial not only for parents, but also for children.
A6 It’s important for parents to try to practice self-care: their emotional health impacts the well-being of their children #EarlyEdChat
— Too Small to Fail (@2SmallToFail) May 11, 2017
YES! It does take a village, it’s important to not isolate ourselves!
A7. Takes a village to raise a child, build a community of support around you that will keep you motivated when you are tired! #earlyedchat
— Marianna Du Bosq (@bilingualavenue) May 11, 2017
Be kind to ourselves! We are not perfect.
@MomsRising A8 Be kind to yourself! Nobody is a perfect parent. We all mess up. Just keep swimming #EarlyEdChat pic.twitter.com/0NFfXl57pM
— Lydia M. Bowers (@LydiaMBowers) May 11, 2017
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