The irony of parent discipline.
Often times parents refrain from disciplining their children because they don’t want the children to feel bad, or they don’t want to feel like they’re being mean. Unfortunately, those kids end up getting very negative messages from people all around them. Their teachers are constantly reprimanding them, other patrons in the stores and restaurants…
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Just because we don’t have time to take a week’s vacation doesn’t mean we can’t get away for a weekend. Just because we don’t have the budget for a kitchen remodel doesn’t mean we can’t get some ideas from Pinterest and DIY some improvements. Just because we don’t have the ideal conditions to create…
What to expect for the 18 years following pregnancy matters more, to me, than what to expect when you’re expecting.
Being a great parent requires educating oneself on the normal and expected stages of child development. One of the most heartbreaking things I see as a family life educator is when a parent gets upset with their child for behaving in a way that is normal for their developmental stage. Each stage of…
Are you happy with your life today?
Funny how when we aren’t happy with our life circumstances we seek to comfort ourselves with things that only make our situation worse. We justify our bad decisions with excuses, “but I’m so depressed and the planet’s probably going to be destroyed anyway so I might as well eat this entire carrot cake and…
Three steps to empowering our kids in hard situations.
Step 1: Slow your roll. When you notice that you are feeling angry or hurt about something that is upsetting your child, take a beat. Train yourself to take some deep breaths and table anything that doesn’t represent imminent danger. Don’t worry, you will come back to it and deal with it. It’s not…
Sometimes we have to say “no.”
We have a great cat. He is a rescue. 10 years old, caught as a stray, and he’s all we could ask for. When you get a pet from a shelter you are really taking a gamble. You make the decision that barring aggressive behavior you are going to love and nurture this pet…
Dog Poop Analogy
“You think too much.” I have been told this numerous times. I also feel too much. And care too much. Perhaps it’s my spaghetti brain that never quits or maybe I’ve been given a heart that bleeds for others so that I will be part of a change we need to see in this…
Instead of setting a resolution, set an intention.
It’s the time of year for New Year’s resolutions. The holidays are over and the cheesecake and cookies weight has piled on. It’s time to eat healthy, exercise, quit a bad habit, read more, watch less Netflix… and so on. But if we take a look back at January, 2016 how many of these…
Strong Families, Quality #6: Ability to Manage Stress and Crisis
All families have problems. Strong families meet the problems as they come and band together to weather the storms as a cohesive unit. Even the youngest members of the family have roles in crises. Strong families seek counsel for how to handle the stresses associated with family life, such as illness, death, marital difficulties,…
Strong Families, Quality #5: Enjoyable Time Together
Enjoyable time together consists of both new experiences and rituals. Both are ideal, but if you do one or the other, choose rituals. Family rituals are the experiences that ground us in comfort and familiarity. They are the setting for our memories. They are what our kids remember and will want to recreate with…