Imagine two divorced parents — different households, different parenting styles — and a three-year-old melting down multiple times every single day. That was Kari and Kyle when they first came to see me. They had tried everything. Timeouts. Reasoning. Rewards charts. Consequences. Ignoring the behavior. Nothing worked — not because they weren’t trying hard enough,…
Does this sound familiar? “You shouldn’t talk to the kids that way.” “You’re being too lenient with them.” “Let me handle this situation. Your approach is making everything harder.” High-stress parenting moments often trigger a destructive pattern: the blame cycle. You feel your partner’s methods are adding to the chaos. They feel attacked and unsupported.…
Parenting is one of life’s greatest joys—and greatest challenges. When you’re raising children with a partner, those challenges can multiply. You’re not just guiding a child; you’re also navigating each other’s parenting approach, stress levels, and emotional triggers. Over the past 30+ years, I’ve helped hundreds of couples move from conflict to connection. If you’re…
Knowing how to support each other emotionally and then solve problems together, is a vital element of parenting as a team. In my previous blog, The First Step to a Successful Parenting Team, I stressed the importance of using the Collaborative Problem-Solving Process to find solutions together. Because this article explores the third step, Discuss…
Effective team parenting is a key ingredient for a happy relationship between two parents… Remember, you both love your children and you both want the best for them. Stress and conflict arise, though, when you have different views on what raising them looks like and how to best accomplish this goal. It’s important to learn…
Parents often join together, or get married, to raise a family. They have visions of feeling more fulfilled by having either one or more children. For some, the love they feel for each other is magnified in the love they feel for their children. But what happens to the bliss? For some, the conflicts between…
Terms of Use: The articles in my blog are a matter of my opinion and perspective, offered to help stimulate parents' thinking about their child raising and common concerns, conflicts, and changes that typically occur. They are meant to be educational only. Because they are general in nature, they should NOT be used as a substitute for getting qualified professional psychological, medical, or legal help should serious need arise. The resources I recommend are mostly consistent with my parenting approach. Use them at your own discretion as you would my articles. The parents’ success stories are particular to their family situation. This does not mean that you would get the same results. They are to be used for inspiration that by you changing first, you have the greatest chance of creating a positive change in your family.