Dealing with sibling’s constant bickering
A recent conversation with a mom with 3 little kids prompted my post on Getting Control of Your Frustrations. Before I had kids, I was known to be a mild and gentle person. “Katy never gets mad.” But what happened to her after the kids came?? Children have the power to bring out the worst [...]
What do kids really need from us?
I love to read. I just finished reading a book that my sister recommended, Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah, a true story of her life. Adeline was born in the 30′s and grew up in an affluent family in China. Â As the youngest of five, their mother died after giving birth to Adeline. Carrying [...]
Stop whining without yelling
We parents talk too much. I suppose it comes naturally to us to talk too much. When we tell our kids “NO” to having a cookie right before dinner and they begin to whine, we feel compelled to explain to them why they can’t have a cookie. When they continue to whine, we escalate our volume [...]
How do I get my kids to go to sleep?
Are you fighting and arguing with your kids to go to sleep at bedtime? When we took our puppy to Puppy Obedience School, all us new dog owners had the same questions: How can I get my puppy to behave? How do I get my puppy not to chew? How can I make him stop [...]
Are our children being raised right?
There’s something wrong with the way American kids are being raised today. Dr. Anne Pierce in her book Ships Without a Shore: America’s Undernurtured Children challenges commonly accepted notions about parenting such as nannys and daycare workers, hyper-structuring, and how Baby Boomers have affected the way we raise our children. Dr. Pierce gives us good [...]
Ten things you should never say to your kids
Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste and tried to get it back in? You can’t do it. It’s the same with words. Out of frustration, we often say things we don’t mean. But once the words are out, you can’t take them back. Here is a list of things I’ve actually heard parents say [...]
Every child comes with standard equipment
Today’s article is written by Peter Aldin, founder of Great Circle Life Coaching. For over a decade, he has provided coaching, workshops and training that assist people to sharpen their personal and professional relationships and communication. Peter and his family live and work in Melbourne. I love his light-hearted (and helpful) look at fatherhood on [...]
Do our pets go to heaven?
Whether it’s your hamster, your goldfish, or your family dog, it is not easy for a child to face the death of a pet. It is even harder for a parent to have to explain it. At one time we had 6+ hamsters and 2 dogs. Now we are down to one rabbit. We grieved [...]
Maybe you don’t have to discipline
This is the third article in the series on discipline. This one deals with younger children. Disciplining older children will be the topic of the next article in this series. In approaching the subject of discipline, our idea is to think of what to do when a child misbehaves. But the best defense is a [...]
Kids and the economy
Kids don’t know anything about the economy nor do they care. They could care less about unemployment, recession, or foreclosures. But kids should be very concern about the economy. Do they know that it has a great impact on their personal lives? Their family vacation, their college fund, the amount of Christmas gifts they get, [...]