Discipline that Connects®: Four Powerful Messages All Kids Long to Hear
0This post is part of a series on “Discipline That Connects®: Four Powerful Messages All Kids Long to Hear”. Over the next four weeks we will expand on four powerful messages that parents can focus on as Biblical goals when discipline challenges hit the fan. …
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Can I Get a Little?
No matter how hard we try to keep calm, sometimes we blow it. When that happens, we can be open to ideas from the Holy Spirit, as was Brenda, a mom who receives our email tips. When we heard her story we invited her to …
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How Family Meetings Can Un-Spoil Kids
One day, my wife and I looked at each other and noticed ourselves doing many things for our kids that they were fully capable of doing for themselves. We also noticed that our kids, to varying degrees, would plead ignorance or inadequacy…
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Can Family Meetings Really Work?
Family Meetings: just the words send some parents into a state of anxiety while kids yawn and get immediately distracted. But with a few simple guidelines, family meetings can be fun, build cooperation, unity, and even leadership skills!
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Kids that “Just Don’t Care!”
“When we confront Devin about his behavior, he just acts like it’s not a big deal or blames someone else,” stated Patty. She and Carl were convinced that their ten-year-old son’s frequent lies and defensiveness were another sign that he didn’t care about them and …
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What’s Your Child Really Saying?
It was the first warm day of spring in Minnesota, which usually means MUD. The ground was still soggy from the snow melt, but the air was clean and fresh and the flowers were just beginning to peek through the soil. I was outside with two of our three kids…
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Planning a vacation this year? Read this first.
Your kids are watching you. Constantly. All the subtle messages from the way you live life are being absorbed by their active little minds, even if neither you nor your child are aware of it. How you do vacations is no exception. So it’s a …
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What to Do When We Blow Up
As hard as we try to parent like God would, we are human, and sometimes we mess up. We lose our cool, we speak harshly, or sometimes we even blow up at our kids. See how one mom handled her blow-up: The boys wouldn’t stop …
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When Kids Reject Affection, Don’t Give Up!
Parents love to connect with their children. But it’s not always so easy. Some children (whether tots or teens) respond to their parents’ affection in a way that says “‘Private property, No trespassing’ in this heart of mine.” The child may withdraw into a private world …
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Would Your Children Say You Love Them?
Have you ever asked your kids what you do to make them feel loved? It’s worth the ask and you might be surprised by their answers. Once they answer, keep working at communicating love so the kids can’t miss it! These five ideas have helped thousands …
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How to Deal with an Attention Addict
Recently, on a weekend when all our kids were home, we dug out the family videos for a trip down memory lane (or, in the case of our daughter-in-law, a crash-course in Jackson family history). Their antics were rather hilarious – particularly their clumsy attempts …
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What’s REALLY Behind Kids’ Misbehavior?
Have you ever noticed that some kids argue more persuasively than others? Or that some kids’ schemes are actually quite creative? Or that some kids’ resistance to our requests is so persistent that we actually give in to them sometimes?
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The Year of “Discipline that Connects”
“What should I do?” When parents come to us for help they ask the same question. It’s a really important question. But there is no one right answer. What works for one parent may not work for another. What works today may not work tomorrow. …
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The Gift of Not Giving: What Kids REALLY Want for Christmas
It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but the Christmas aisles have been stocked for weeks already. Commercials for Black Friday “doorbusters” are rampant, and there is even controversy about some stores beginning their sales on Thanksgiving Day this year. The holiday materialism debate is not new: …
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Thankfulness in Three Dimensions
As we prepare for the upcoming day of “giving thanks”, take a moment to reflect on these three dimensions of thankfulness. First Dimension: Thankfulness for Blessings Big and Small When we think of thankfulness, we often give thanks for things — turkey, pumpkin pie, or …
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How to Have Positive Politics in Your Home
On Tuesday we talked about the importance of practicing what you preach at home. Practically speaking, if you want your kids to learn respect and responsibility, you need to set the stage for it at home. Here’s an idea for developing great “politics” in your …
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Why “Asking Too Much” Can Be a Good Thing
When Moses told the nation of Israel to follow God’s commandments and “impress them on your children,” (Deut. 6:7) he was not speaking just to parents but to an entire community. He knew individual families were vulnerable. He knew that a family was only as …
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Is There “Miracle Grow” for Good Behavior?
The energy we give to kids based on their behavior is like fertilizer. Whether it’s behavior we want from our kids or behavior we don’t want, our energy feeds it for future growth. To fertilize desired behavior requires thoughtfulness. We hope this simple acronym helps …
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5 Reasons to Laugh With Your Kids
1. It feels great! Few things in life feel better than hearty laughter. 2. It brings people together! Few things are more connective than enjoying a huge belly laugh together with those you love. Laughter releases a variety of “feel good” chemicals in our brain …
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How to Help Your Kids Like Each Other
After a long summer, is sibling conflict driving you crazy? Here’s great proactive strategy… At times children naturally enjoy each other. But conflict is inevitable. If parents allow it, isolated conflicts can turn into a persistent rivalry that has the power to dominate their children’s …
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10 Screen-Free Ways to Have Fun With Your Kids
On Tuesday we talked about some “DOs and DON’Ts” of how to peel your kids off the screen. It may seem difficult to help your kids discover fun alternatives to their action-packed video games or TV shows, but it can be done! Check out this …
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Connection in Correction (Love No Matter What!)
Our belief is that what makes a discipline technique effective is not what parents do, but how they do it. This is where the most effective technique we’ve ever seen comes in. We call it “Connection in Correction”. It’s a way of doing discipline that communicates to …
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Pass the Peas, Pass the Faith!
How can you pass the values and faith while you pass the veggies and fruit? These are important questions. Ask your kids questions about their thoughts and ideas!
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The Most Important Thing Your Child Can Do!
“Research shows that the most important thing a child can do to assure long-term well being is eat meals with his or her family. The more meals together, the better!” Over a shared dinner table, kids enjoy the time together and are embracing their parents’ values. So make a commitment. Share more meals!
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A mom’s email: The Transforming Power of “Discipline that Connects™”
Dear Jim & Lynne, I have been reading your new book, “Discipline that Connects™” and was blessed by your teaching as I was just driving my kid’s home from my parent’s house and feeling so thankful yet again to have come into contact with …
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Connected Families | Learn to Parent with Contagious Love and Faith!