Category Discipline
“Don’t Mom Alone”
We’ve had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Heather MacFadyen’s multiple times for her website and podcast Don’t Mom Alone (formerly God Centered Mom). Heather is warm, gracious, and so much fun. It feels like sitting down with…
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…
How Do I Get This Behavior to Stop?
The first dad was angry I answered his phone call and heard a wide assortment of issues. His son was hanging out with a group of friends the dad did not like at all. He’d caught his son stealing, lying,…
Stay Curious During Tough Conversations
I remember a tough conversation I needed to have with our third-grade son, Daniel. I wasn’t very happy about the company he was starting to keep. His behavior was getting worse as he hung out with what I concluded must be…
“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…
“Spread Yourselves THICK!”
“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.” I Corinthians 6:12 Our oldest child, Daniel, made a grand pronouncement one morning upon learning that we all had to go to church early, and stay through three services, because of our…
Words that Hurt
In this Q & A, Jim and Lynne take 4 minutes to respond to a question from a mom and dad regarding their son’s hurtful words to his siblings. “Our son constantly criticizes and teases our daughters – and anyone…