When children don’t listen, being calm and confident can take extra effort, but really it is the key to getting kids to listen. To encourage children to listen more, and stop yelling you can try these three steps. Continue Reading
Cooperation Begins with Trust
Tag Archives: positive parenting
Positive Parenting Isn’t Perfect Parenting and That’s OK
While I would love to implement patient, consistent positive strategies all of the time, I realize that I am not perfect. My kids are not perfect. My life is not perfect. It was only recently that I started to see that the road to positive parenting is not a smooth, paved path. Instead, it is rocky and uneven. There are some advantages to traveling this rocky road. Continue Reading
Letting Calm Confidence Lead the Way
Techniques galore. Time outs. Behavior charts. Chore charts. Get-out-the-door charts. 1, 2, 3 warnings. Homework first. Cry to sleep. Rock to sleep. Just sleep. “Eyes only” and one finger touches. Unwavering curfew. No reading until your teeth are brushed and jammies on. Be respectful or else. Consequences consequences consequences…and on and on and on. Techniques.… Continue Reading
Helping Your Child Through Disappointment
Disappointment can be like a tidal wave of emotions for your kids. Image this scenario: The van is packed, and you’re about ready to head out the door. Suddenly, you hear thunder in the distance. No! It can’t be! You checked the weather, and it wasn’t supposed to rain for a few more hours. But minutes… Continue Reading
How To Discipline When Kids Use Back Talk
The most important lesson in back talk is to help children realize that it’s not effective, polite or a respectful manner to communicate. It’s important to teach our children how to communicate their needs well. The aim in stopping back talk shouldn’t be to take our children’s opinions and needs out of the picture. Much to the contrary, it should be to help them instead learn how to politely disagree and make their needs known. Continue Reading
10 Ways to Connect in 10 Minutes or Less
What’s your favorite way to reconnect when you are short on time? Here are 10 Ideas to connect with your child that take 10 minutes or less! Continue Reading
Looking At Behavior Through A Different Lens
I believe you’ll discover how you choose to respond to your child will be in ways that support and encourage and affirm them for who they are.
In return, they can feel empowered…and that child on the periphery may begin to move into the group and engage; the child that feels so deeply begins to understand and accept her feelings even more–allowing her to manage those feelings better and better; the eye-rolling/sarcastic stuff from your teen can lessen…and they may begin to open up about what is really troubling them; the button pushing turns into more cooperative behavior and you feel calmer and more patient daily Continue Reading
Teaching Your Child to Respectfully Disagree With You (And Other Adults)
Maybe you’re from the “parent is always right” or “children should be seen and not heard” school of thought. If so, I would challenge you to examine how that is working for your relationship with your child. Conflict between a parent and a child sometimes stem from the child not feeling heard, valued or respected. I realize that you may not feel respected either. Taking steps to communicate respectfully may be a stride toward repairing the relationship. Continue Reading
The Most Helpful Parenting Articles of 2014
What was the most helpful parenting article you read in 2014? I couldn’t pick just one, so…. Here is a collection of the most helpful parenting articles of 2014 from fantastic parenting writers and educators covering topics like yelling, power struggles, behavior, picky eating, marriage, divorce, anxiety, smart phones, cyberbullying, and more, plus some of the most… Continue Reading
Meeting Misbehavior with Acceptance and Empathy
A toddler has a melt down at the store. Later, he takes a cookie without telling you and spits on the ground. A preschooler throws his toys, refuses to help with clean up and later will not brush teeth or put on pajamas. A tween shouts no, rolls her eyes and bangs the door,… Often when… Continue Reading