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…
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I offer a new perspective on figuring out how to reduce rebellion. Most parents focus on the negative behavior and ask “How do I change the behavior?” “How do I get my child to do chores? “How do I…..” This is a narrow view of rebellion which is reactive to the child’s behavior in…
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How many ways can tweens and teens rebel? Let me count the ways. 1. Yelling their rebellion and refusal bluntly and clearly…. “No!” “You can’t make me.” “I’m not going to.” What do you do with that response?!!! How do you move an immovable child, tween, or teen? 2. Putting you off…
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Yahoo! There can be a sense of freedom when school is out and all the sports, swimming, and dance activities halt or slow down. And, let’s not forget… no homework! We get used to so much stress as a part of our daily lives, that interactions like these happen all the time. Summer…
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It’s interesting to review statistics about parenting that the Pew Institute gathered. Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how American parents approach parenting. This analysis is based on 3,757 U.S. parents with children under age 18. The data was collected as part of a larger survey of parents with children younger than…
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Sunday I had a wonderful conversation with my 34-year-old daughter about childrearing because it’s a topic her friends with children discuss. She was expressing concern about a popular style that she felt was too lax when it came to setting expectations and saying “No” to kids. I chuckled when I reminded her that…
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Does your childhood impact your parenting? Are you noticing that you sound at times like your parents did with you? Many dads and moms I’ve talked to over the past 29 years are trying to parent in a different way than how they were parented. If, on the other hand, you want to repeat…
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I received a fantastic email from a mom, Susan, whom I recently taught how to parent her high-spirited 8-year-old daughter more successfully. I asked her, “ May I share your experience so I can inspire other parents?” Susan’s response was, “Of course! Anything that can help others realize the methods work, the better.” …
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Raising children has its wonderful aspects and its challenges. One key challenge is finding the time. Time for taking kids to sports, cooking, cleaning, working, enforcing rules, personal care, reading, hugging, and getting homework done to name only a few. Your time is precious. One question to consider is how much time do you…
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My articles are full of pieces of parenting advice. I say “pieces” because solving parenting challenges involves more than one “quick tip”. The solution-finding process is like a puzzle with a framework, the border pieces, that give structure to the process. The structure I provide is the Family Harmony Formula. What you’ll find is…
DetailsTerms 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.