My daughter is now 26 yet I can still feel distress when I’m not able to reach her by phone. The parental mind seems to go instantly to fear that something has happened to our child. I laughed so hard when my daughter showed me this pie chart of what parents think when kids don’t answer their phones. We…
DetailsHi Cynthia, I attended your class last week on motivating kids without punishment or rewards. That night when I got home my son was still awake so I told him that we would get up 10 minutes earlier the next day and spend some time together doing whatever it was that he wanted. The next…
Details
I’m a mom of three children. My two teenage girls share a bathroom and I want them to be responsible for cleaning it. I was taking the hands off approach until it got so bad that I would loudly tell them that I couldn’t stand it anymore and they had to clean it. I knew…
Details
Making kids lives easier doesn’t teach them how to handle life challenges. Offering help occasionally to do something they know how to do is okay. Be careful to not get caught through their pleading to continue. Here are guidelines to check to see if you are strengthening or weakening your children. At the end is…
Detailstrying to get her to change. I had to change my thinking from “she’s the problem and I need to fix her” to “what can I do differently to get a more positive response from her?” I’m working on stating my expectation, then restating with even fewer words, if necessary, and not engaging. This works…
Details
When I learned about communication blocks as an Active Parenting Course instructor, my life changed. I realized that if I didn’t take some responsibility for my daughter’s, husband’s, or other people’s negative reactions to what I said that I wouldn’t be able to improve my relationships. The more I took responsibility for learning how to…
DetailsI struggle with managing my anger with my very strong-willed 5 year-old daughter. She gets very demanding with telling me what to do. When I say I can’t do something, she keeps nagging at me and starts to scream and throw a tantrum. She also gets upset if some clothing doesn’t feel right. I try…
DetailsHi 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…
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.