Helping Families Find Freedom
I was so blessed by the mom of a preschooler who posted on Facebook this picture of her son in the very front row of his preschool concert, sitting on his bottom refusing to sing a note. Apparently he had warned his mom, “If you come to my concert then I am sitting down and read more…
I’ll never forget the advice I heard from a mom of teens when all four of my boys were not even in school yet. She told me, “Trust me, you don’t want your kids to be popular.” At first this surprised me. Of course I wanted other kids to like my boys. I sure liked read more…
Wow, in the two discipline workshops I did this weekend at Hearts at Home, women clamored for my “Whammy List.” Apparently moms love new tools that will improve kids’ behavior. But here’s the trick—no guarantees come with the “Whammy List.” This is simply a part of your role in parenting. Your child has a part read more…
Yesterday I overheard an 8th grade girl trying to convince a middle school administrator that it was “appropriate” to makeout on the middle school bus since “it is not the same as school and there is nothing wrong with kissing.” Where to begin, precious young teen? Let me start by addressing the teen herself since read more…
Stop Letting School Sabotage Your Relationship with Your Child I’m not sure how many times I have said this, but the most important part of parenting is the relationship we have with our kids. Is it honest? Loving? Respectful? Joy-filled? Secure? If it is, then parenting will be much easier–maybe even fun! But I read more…
The Power We Wield: After the Game—on the Ride Home I have seen article after article about parents behaving badly during kids’ sporting events. Sure, it’s frustrating and hard to hear sometimes. It’s tough to see the looks on kids’ faces as they respond to the criticism or the embarrassment. But what about when these read more…
Sure, almost all parents lose their tempers with their kids sometimes. But if doing so NEVER makes our parenting any easier, then why not try to stay calm? Here are a few tried and true methods that have worked for me: Expect your kids to embarrass you at times. Expect them to make read more…
You being visibly angry at your kids doesn’t make the situation better—ever. Sure, maybe they begrudgingly complete the task you asked them to do. Maybe they realize that you “mean business.” But at what cost to the relationship? Do we want them to behave because they are afraid (the correct answer is no)? Do we read more…
Warning: Rant Ahead! Did you know that January is National Preschool Freak-Out Month? Seriously, January is the month that many preschools begin registering kids for the fall. That means that FIRST TIME PARENTS might not have a clue that in the dead of winter they need to be making plans for the end of summer. read more…
When the boys were younger, I used to think that if I did the “right” thing when they misbehaved then they would miraculously begin to behave. So I all had to do was scour the parenting books for the “right” thing to do. How wrong I was! Kids learn to behave through a process and read more…
