Why Children Need Boundaries

Quick Look

• A holistic, natural and positive guide to inspire and support individual parenting approaches
• Offers practical advice on the appropriate boundaries and healthy habits for children of all ages -- from babies to young adults
• Loïs Eijgenraam, also the author of Helping Children Form Healthy Attachments, has been a teacher for over 30 years

A practical and inspiring guide for parents with children of all ages. Explores the different types of boundaries children need at different ages and stages. Offers advice to support individual parenting approaches.

Description

Children of all ages need clear boundaries to help them navigate the world around them and develop healthily. But 'boundaries' doesn’t just mean rules: babies need physical boundaries such as loving arms or a cot to feel safe; young children depend on regular routines to know what will happen next and what they'll be doing tomorrow; older children need space to make positive choices and develop as individuals.

So how can we provide appropriate boundaries for our children? And how do we know when to adapt as children grow.

This insightful book gives an overview of the different types of boundaries children need at different ages and stages, from babies to young adults. It offers a parent's toolkit of practical advice on common pitfalls to avoid, how to form healthy family habits and how to set appropriate rules.

Loïs Eijgenraam, author of Helping Children Form Healthy Attachments, draws on Rudolf Steiner's theories of child development to create a holistic, natural and positive guide to inspire and support your own approach to parenting.

Table of Contents

PART 1: CHILDREN AND BOUNDARIES
1. What Do we Mean by Boundaries?
2. Some Theory on Child Development
3. Why Do Children Need Boundaries?

PART 2: BOUNDARIES AT EACH AGE AND STAGE
1. 0–7 year olds
2. 7–14 year olds
3. 14–21 year olds

PART 3: HOW TO ESTABLISH LOVING BOUNDARIES
1. An Overview of Parenting Styles
2. Evaluating your Own Biography
3. Parenting Behaviour to Avoid
4. Am I Spoiling my Children?
5. Forming Positive Habits
6. A Seven-Step Guide to Setting Appropriate Boundaries
7. Twelve Golden Words

Acknowledgements
Bibliography

Reviews

'This is a simple and succinct account of what boundaries are in the context of raising children, why they are important both for harmonising family life and for life-long healthy and happiness. Most importantly, the author explains how to successfully bring boundaries into children's lives in an appropriate age-related way.'
-- Jill Tina Taplin, NESWEC Course Coordinator


Praise for Helping Children Form Healthy Attachments:

'Practical, easy to read and understand, and very approachable... I would recommend this book for teacher and parents libraries.'
-- Kindling

Author

Loïs Eijgenraam was born in 1965 in the Netherlands. She has been a kindergarten teacher for over 30 years and also works as an educational consultant and lecturer. She is the author of Helping Children Form Healthy Attachments (Floris Books).

Barbara Mees is a professional translator living in the Netherlands.