How many minutes should I let my children text?
A parent asked me this question: “Our cell phone plan allows unlimited texts, but I think our 8th grade son is overdoing it with over 3000 minutes a month. What should I do?” First of all, check his phone and make sure there are no inappropriate texting of words and pictures, or with strangers. Be [...]
Praying for your rebellious child
I read this on Family Life yesterday. May it encourage you to never give up praying for your children, no matter where they are spiritually. One of the greatest examples of [praying and trusting God with a rebellious child] is Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. She watched him spend his teenage and young adult [...]
Questions sixth-graders ask, and how would you answer?
Dennis Rainey of Family Life asked his 6th grade Sunday School classes, “If you could ask your parents any question, knowing that I would ask it for you and then give you the answer later, what would it be?” Here were some of the responses. Remember, these were 6th graders at church. “If I became [...]
Body piercing extremes
You’ve heard of nose, bellybutton, tongue, lips and even nipples piercings, but have you heard elf ears body modification? I couldn’t believe it when I read it on Vanessa’s parenting blog. Take a look at it at Vanessa’s blog and tell me what you think. I am sure if someone was born with elf ears, [...]
Communicating with a teenager
It’s summer, your teenagers are probably at home more. If you have children in college, they may have moved back for the summer. Are you experiencing tension in your relationships with living in close quarters? Are you having conflicts over everyday stuff like putting their dishes away or waking up at noon? What’s the best [...]
Teaching our children about dating
It’s a radical idea, but a good one. My daughter’s teacher, the school Christian club adviser, told the kids that her approach to dating is that she hopes to marry her first boyfriend. What did she say?? Let me clarify. She doesn’t mean she’s going to blindly marry the first guy she happens to go [...]
Do your children know you love them?
I hear many teenagers tell me, “My parents only care about ________(fill in the blank with “my grades”, “not embarrassing them”, “keeping my room clean”, etc.). They don’t care about ME.” What do they mean their parents don’t care about them?? I bet their parents would die for them. Yet that message doesn’t get across [...]
Holistic approach to helping your tweens
“My 11-year-old is disrespectful, talks back to us, and unmotivated in school. We’ve tried talking to her, giving her rewards and punishment, nothing seems to work. What should we do?” I’ve been answering this parent’s question in the last two posts: Dealing with difficult tween years Our teenager is growing up and away! I’ve stayed [...]
Our teenager is growing up and away!
In the previous post, I started to address the question by a parent: “My 11-year-old is disrespectful, talks back to us, and unmotivated in school. We’ve tried talking to her, giving her rewards and punishment, nothing seems to work. What should we do?” Here’s the 2nd part of the answer where I take a different [...]
Dealing with difficult tween years
A parent asked me, “My 11-year-old is disrespectful, talks back to us, and unmotivated in school. We’ve tried talking to her, giving her rewards and punishment, nothing seems to work. What should we do?” My son also had a difficult time when he was 11, just going into middle school. I’ve talked to several parents [...]