Helping Families Find Freedom
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…
When watching a litter of puppies play, it’s usually easy to see which one is the alpha dog. He’s the one that eats first, gets the toy first, and generally dominates the other puppies. Unfair? Maybe. But someone has to be in charge. And in your house, that’s you! Challenging (AKA difficult) children are read more…
It can sometimes be so easy for our kids to draw us into an argument. They want something. We don’t. They don’t see why not. Or the opposite scenario: We want them to do something. They don’t want to do it. They don’t understand why they should do it. That pretty much sums up read more…
I’ll never forget the dad I spoke to a few years ago about getting his daughter to stay in her bed at night. He said, “The only thing that seems to work is when I threaten to take her “lovie” (comfort blanket). I took it one night so she knows I’ll do it.” While this read more…
For the last five days I have been in my bed recovering from ankle surgery. So a couple times a day each of my sons will wander in to see me or bring me something I need. Invariably, each one will grab my crutches and play with them. Every. Single. Time. So for fun, I read more…
It’s 2:11 on Halloween afternoon and I just checked the Look out My Window weather app–it’s windy and rainy and I just saw three snowflakes! Not the perfect Halloween weather is it? And that’s when it struck me. It’s not perfect. Not even close to perfect. It’s actually more like “add layers over your costume and read more…
“Say ‘I’m sorry” or I won’t play Spiderman with you tonight.” I overheard this statement yesterday from a father to his five year-old son. Perhaps this sounds like a perfectly healthy way to get a child to do something that he doesn’t want to do. Or perhaps it doesn’t sound quite right to you. Certainly read more…
