Jim and Lynne Jackson
When Kids Act Up, Don’t Try to Be More Patient…
There are certain time when kids seem especially prone to “pushing our buttons”: after Christmas, after birthdays, summertime, and the list goes on. Kids have trouble figuring out “sharing patterns” for their stuff, everyone’s jazzed on sugar and tired from disrupted…
How Would Jesus Discipline?
We have raised our own three kids who are now in their twenties. Through personal experience, as well as working with countless families, we have learned that not every child responds well to spanking. When we spanked our intense son…
The Gift of Not Giving:
Have you noticed that Christmas aisles seem to be stocked earlier and earlier these days? Commercials for Black Friday “doorbusters” are rampant, and there is even controversy about some stores beginning their sales on Thanksgiving Day. The holiday materialism debate is not new: on…
The Joy of Family Chores: A Tale of Two Moms
In a family, we all need each other. We are a team, and we share in the responsibility of the household. “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to…
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…
Your Child Is Not Your Report Card
As the school year begins, here are a few brief reminders about responsibility and report cards.
How to Turn Misbehavior Into Success!
Few watching Jonathan Horton faithfully anchor the 2012 US Men’s Gymnastics team would guess that, apparently, he was quite a squirrelly youngster! But “squirrelly” is definitely the right word — as a commercial that aired during the Olympics describes, a young…
How to Help Your Kids Like Each Other
At times, children naturally enjoy each other. But conflict is inevitable. If parents allow it, isolated conflicts can turn into a persistent rivalry with the power to dominate their children’s relationships with each other. In other words, if we wait for…
Michael Phelps’ Secret… and What It Tells Us About Parenting
Michael Phelps is now the most decorated Olympian in history. Winning 19 Olympic medals has made him — according to many — “the greatest Olympian ever”. So what is Phelps’ secret? Well, it could be his high-altitude sleeping chamber. But we…
“Why Can’t You Just Do What I Say?”
I’m often tempted to discipline my children with the goal of gaining immediate results. While this might get me what I want in the moment, it often leads to greater frustration later because I didn’t really teach the value behind…