Annie the Nanny in Red Deer talking with moms about common parenting concerns!

momstown Central Alberta had the privilege of hosting Annie the Nanny for a parenting talk this past month in Red Deer!

Who is Annie the Nanny?

Most importantly Annie is the mom of three (2 grown up, one left at home). 

Annie trained in the UK (N.N.E.B. 3 year) in 1988 and has worked with parents and children ever since.    In 2004, she started her company 'Annie the Nanny' and since then, has been working with families to solve every kind of behaviour issue.  Along the way, she has become a keen study of human nature, looking at why children display behaviour issues, how to fix them and how to prevent them from showing up later.  She's almost finished a book which details her observations.  Just recently, she started a CTV parenting segment answering common behaviour questions and hopes one day, she can add to that with her 

favourite medium...radio.

What did she tell us we would gain form coming? Is there a secret to parenting? A way of raising your child that guarantees happy, healthy and resilient children?  A solution to all the common issues parents deal with like temper tantrums, picky eating, sleeping problems and more?  Yes, there is.  But it’s not a secret.  It’s just hidden and it’s deep inside you.  Find out what really matters to your kids and how to provide it.  

Is this what we found? YES!!
The members of momstown Central Alberta loved her common sense take on parenting, all with logical consequences!!

What was the response of our members from this talk?
"I loved it!" 
"I tried it and "look busy" WORKS!! I love it!! 
"I spoke to my son about the behavior I expected... and he behaved as I expected!"
"I love that she has a facebook page, so we can ask her questions any time."
"It's wonderful having a "go to" resource at our fingertips."
"Little tips from an outside source can make a world of difference :)"
"I took all 3 girls to the little fair at Parkland Mall. I spoke with them before hand about the behavior I expected. They were so well behaved!! I also really liked the message that you need to lead the family."

Taken from Annie's website, the following tips are exactly what we took away from this awesome talk!
 
Annie The Nanny’s Tips For A Happy Home.
I do want to remind parents that tips can’t help solve underlying behaviour problems. They should only be regarded as pointers and it’s important that parents get to the root cause if their child is displaying behaviour issues.

1. Be a leader.
Children have a need not only for love but for reliable authority figures.  As such, they look to you to provide direction and clear expectations for their behavior. If you negotiate constantly change your expectations, or look to them as to what to do next, your little ones feel that no-one is leading the family and so they try to fill the void. No small child is able to handle such a responsibility, so they feel unsafe.  When any child feels unsafe they will ramp up their behaviour to get you to take control of the situation and make them feel secure. If you don’t, the behaviour will worsen as your child, panicked, desperately tries to get you to re assume leadership of the family.

2.  Make normal life the focus and not the kids..
It’s become normal these days for parents to spend their days entertaining their children.  The trouble is it’s a mistake as children need to be part of life and not the focus of it.  Children are hard wired to watch and imitate you and play along side you. If you allow that to happen naturally they will be happy little campers but if you constantly spend your time trying to entertain them or discover what they want to do next, you will find that they will become more and more demanding and frequently far less happy.

3. Give them some freedom.
Children these days are breaking down in record numbers at university because they can’t handle living an independent life. Remember the final goal of being a parent is for your children to eventually live without you taking care of them. Your children will never gain independence if you don’t let them experience it.  Sensible precautions are fine, constant supervision, especially as they age, is not.

4. Have fun with your children.
With all the stress of parenting today, sometimes this gets lost in the shuffle. Your children want to have fun with you and as long as you don’t spend all your time focusing on them, that is just fine. When they least expect it, dance in the rain, build sand castles, sing in parking lots. Enjoy yourself and your children. They are only young once.

5. Trust your instincts.
Raising your child nowadays requires negotiating a minefield of contradictory parenting practices. Just remember something though, we’ve been on this planet some 160,000 years and although things change, much remains the same. You’ve got instincts for a reason. Trust yourself and listen to them.