Give the Gift of Connection
Category Discipline
It’s Not Defiance—It’s Science!
Pretty much every kid loves to experiment with chaos: dropping food, smearing things, investigating cupboards or containers, throwing toys — you name it, a toddler has probably gotten into it. It can be easy to get aggravated when your child…
7 Peaceful, Powerful Ways to Connect with an Angry Child
Everyone would agree that loving our children is one of the most important things a parent can do. But sometimes expressing that love isn’t as easy as it sounds. Sarafina wrote about a breakthrough she had in learning to connect…
How I Turned My Parenting Fail into a Lesson in Grace: Sukay’s Story
Whether or not they verbalize it, kids often struggle with feeling like they are “bad kids” or that they are “naughty” when they misbehave. It can be tough for parents, especially in moments of frustration as our kids are acting…
How to Deal with Kids’ Potty Talk
Few things get parents’ attention as quickly as kids’ potty talk! Recently I worked with a family whose two boys, Will and Logan (ages 5 and 3), were frequently finding hilarious entertainment in each other’s potty humor. But parents John and…
Powerful Strategies to Fill Your Parenting with Peace and Confidence [podcast]
Recently Jim and Lynne sat down with the folks over at the Positive Parenting podcast to talk about how to discipline in a way that actually connects with kids. The full podcast is 30 minutes — Listen or download below:…
The Inspiring Parenting Behind the World’s Greatest Inventor
Thomas Edison often tops the list of the world’s greatest inventors. We have him to thank for (among other things) the phonograph, the first motion picture camera, and the lightbulb, about which he famously said of his many failed…
The Parenting Pitfall We All Get Stuck In
There’s a parenting pitfall that nearly all parents get stuck in at some point: “If my child behaves well, I am a good parent. If my child misbehaves, I am a bad parent.” Stated so bluntly, it’s obviously not true,…
What’s the Best Way To Discipline?
Much has been written about how to discipline. Thousands of books, with hundreds of methods. Unfortunately, most recommended methods are limited in their ability to apply to every situation. And when parents get hung up on one particular method, discipline can…
When Kids Say “I Hate You!” How Can Parents Respond?
“I hate you!” There are certainly plenty of parents who have heard those disrespectful words. Some parents are deeply hurt (“I can’t believe you would say that, after all I do…”) while others get intensely angry (“It’s not okay to…
What I Learned from a Really Ugly Moment Last Week
You know how sometimes you look back and think, “WHY in the world did I say that!?” I had a moment like that last week. It was ugly… but I learned a lot! Here’s what happened: In a state of discouragement and stress,…