Have you ever received parenting advice and thought, “I tried that already, and it didn’t work”? If so, you’re not alone. Parenting can often feel like a never-ending journey of trial and error, especially when advice seems to miss the mark. If the strategies you’ve tried aren’t giving you the results you expect, there might…
Are Logical Consequences Really Effective? Do you set up logical consequences to get your kids to do what you want them to do? How do you feel about them? How effective are they? If they keep repeating the undesired behavior, then they’re NOT effective. Perhaps you say, “If you don’t put the dishes in the…
Creating a More Peaceful Home You are so precious to me. You are opening your minds and taking steps to create a more peaceful world. Each time you self-reflect and stop yourself from venting at your children, you are creating more love in your family. You are creating a safer place to live. A home…
Are your kids learning the values you want them to when they are on Twitter & Instagram, texting, or playing video games? Your answer to that question may range from “No”, to “Sometimes”, depending on the amount of time spent on their devices. I propose that we work together to limit our children’s electronics use…
Yesterday I spoke for several schools on the topic Win Kids Over Without Punishments or Rewards. I asked myself, what do I want to tell them in 45 minutes about the keys to “winning” kids over? How do we do that rather than trying to control, threaten, manipulate, or shame them into doing what we…
To win cooperation from strong-willed children, focus on not being adversarial, pleading, or fearful of resistance. These types of responses feel disrespectful or weak which diminishes your authority and often opens the door to power struggles. Avoid these common responses. Answering your kid’s “why?” when they already know the answer. You’ll end up defending yourself…
Are you being “forced” to judge sibling conflicts? As difficult as they are, each sibling conflict gives us an opportunity to either teach our children or to try to control our children. When we use discipline parenting strategies we are approaching the conflict as a teachable moment; an opportunity for our children to learn important…
If you feel that you have let your kids, teens, or tweens have more power than they should in certain areas, you are not alone! The big challenge then becomes how to pull back their power once they “taste” power and they don’t want to give it up! This could happen with problems such as:…
In my survey about the top challenges you are experiencing during the summer, the #1 challenge is trying to get kids off mobile devices! I’m not surprised. So, you are asking, “How do I get my kid/teen off screens? Nothing is working.” Whenever someone asks me a “how do I …” question, my first thought…
If you have ever felt or said, “You’re manipulating me!”, you are not alone. It’s’ a familiar feeling and in a way, true. Your children are masters at manipulating you! Children learn at an early age what to say and do to get what they want. It’s a human drive to fulfill our needs or…
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.