Hi Cynthia, I attended your talk about how to encourage your kids to do what you need them to do and I tried it out today. I spent 6 minutes this morning with my older son and we just did what he wanted to do. With that quality time, it was amazing how it transformed…
DetailsTo 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 diminish your authority and often open 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…
DetailsMost parents of strong-willed children find them very challenging. Parents have conflicting desires between wanting easy- going children so they will do what they are told, and at the same time strong-willed kids so they will stand up for themselves and not be swayed by negative influences. Since this duo personality doesn’t exist, it’s best…
DetailsThis is the on line article from the New York Times, Jan, 19, 2015 Parenting Advice from America’s Worst Mom http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/advice-from-americas-worst-mom/?_r=0 Lenore Skenazy, a New York City mother of two, earned the sobriquet “America’s Worst Mom” after reporting in a newspaper column that she had allowed her younger son, then 9, to ride the subway alone. The…
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I have an 11 year-old son who struggles with school. We put him into a private school and he agreed to do the work. The homework is turning out to be very challenging. I have gotten mad at him many times when he lies about completing his work, because he wasn’t living up to his…
DetailsInstructions: Look at the following skills. Check those that are important to you for your children to learn before they leave home. Keep these goals in mind as you use discipline to teach these important skills. This list is created by Elizabeth Crary in Pick up Your Socks, copyright 1990 Personal Care ___ Bathes ___ …
DetailsBook excerpt from my upcoming book We all have visions of how we want to interact with our kids and how we want them to respond. No one wants to yell, threaten, shame or feel powerless, hurt, or give up. So why is it so difficult to follow our vision of who we want to…
DetailsI was holiday shopping at 10:30 pm on Tuesday night and I saw several families with children ages 4 -7 at the store. This was not the first time I have seen children out way past their bedtime. I’m wondering how difficult it will be to get them to bed and what they will feel…
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I learned from Patty Wipfler, who created Hand in Hand Parenting the invaluable skill of having an adult listening partner. In order to be able to listen to our children, we need a way to release our own feelings that get in the way of being present and meeting our kids’ needs. She has developed…
DetailsI have a 15 year-old daughter who gets mad at me when I try to help her. I discovered from working with Cynthia that my “help” wasn’t helpful. I picked her up from school one day and she was very upset because she was not able to finish her Chemistry homework despite the help of…
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