Category Coach
Chores: The Constant Battle
You’ve tried every trick in the book to get your kids to do basic chores. And your kids try every trick in the book to resist. You never would have dreamed of sassing back to your parents about chores the…
Two Questions That Defuse Almost Any Conflict
After working with parents for over twenty years we have learned that there are two critical questions that help guide children toward wisdom. The problem is that parents are so focused on stopping the problem that they frequently miss the…
Got an Attention-Seeking Child in the Classroom? Try This Strategy
So your child is the child engaging in all the attention-seeking antics in the classroom? Or, at least, that’s what the teacher tells you… Hearing from the school that your child isn’t doing well or is causing problems for the…
“I’m the Parent. I Don’t HAVE to Say Please”
Have you heard ungrateful demands (like the ones below) from kids who seem to expect you to drop your life in order to take care of them? “Mom! Where’s dinner?” “Dad, I need a ride to the gym!” “Bring…
Learning to Enter as a Coach
Brendon and Naomi are parents to three kids; ages 6, 4, and 2. After completing the Sibling Conflict online course Brendon reported, “This course has had a profound impact on our parenting!” He told us the following story about one…
Bullying: Challenge or Opportunity?
Throughout the United States, October is national bullying prevention month, and many schools around the country will encourage their kids to wear orange in support of anti-bullying. Those are nice sentiments, but what does it actually look like if your…
Telling vs Asking
What’s the difference between telling and asking? I’m a teller by nature. It seems easier. Maybe just more efficient, really. I tell my child what to do and then she does it. I tell her the answer to the question…
“You have chubby little legs!”
We can joke about it now. Mostly. But, at the time, I saw it as one of my worst parenting moments and I worried I’d wrecked my daughter forever. There she was, a sweet fourth grader who I’d done my…
So You Killed The Cat….Now What?
“Do you think we should tell the kids what really happened? What they don’t know won’t hurt them, right?” We received this question when a parent accidentally ran over the sleeping, aging family cat. What would you say if they…
“I can’t hear you!”
“I can’t hear you!! I can’t hear you!!” You thought his misbehavior was frustrating, but when your child covers his ears and yells “I can’t hear you!” it sends your blood pressure through the roof! We received this question from…