Give the Gift of Connection
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How to Turn a Parenting Fail into a Parenting Win
It was a Sunday evening. I was emotionally and physically done for the day and looking forward to a quiet house. Suddenly I overheard squabbling about who was the rightful owner of a large stuffed panda bear. My engagement with…
10 Best on the Connected Families Blog 2014
We can hardly believe it’s 2015 already! Before we dive into a year of new blog posts, we thought we’d dwell for just a moment on some of your favorites from 2014. Here are the ten most-clicked parenting tips of…
Some Practical Tips for a Truly Christ-filled Christmas
Whether you’re feeling totally frazzled or totally prepared, here are some of our favorite parenting tips to help you and your family not only survive but find connection, faith, and the peace of Christ through this Christmas season.
How do you grow when you’ve blown it?
Lynne and I blew it a lot. We had a lot of great moments as a young family, but we also had a lot of bad moments – the kind of stuff that over time can lead to growing disconnection…
The Key to Consistent Parenting
It is often said that consistency is an important key to effective parenting. We agree wholeheartedly. However, we believe consistency is not so much about the method we choose, but the heart behind the method. If our heart is consistently…
How to Help Your Kids Repent
We received this story from “Shelly”, who was able to communicate love in misbehavior and saw it bear fruit with her 8 year-old-son… This morning my son Garrett was getting into his grumpy, yelling, the-world-is-against-me mode. I asked him, “It…
What to Do When Kids Push Your Buttons
When kids act up, it’s a parent’s job to guide them through the difficulty. But kids’ trouble often pushes parents’ buttons. Need for control? Push. Desire for quick fixes? Push. Anxiety about what’s gonna happen with this demanding kid? Push.…
The Great Thing About Yelling…
The great thing about yelling is that it helps a parent unload a lot of frustration and for the moment feel a sense of control. The bad part is – that moment is short-lived. Whatever damage was done in the…
Five Powerful Parenting Lessons from ‘Frozen’
Frozen has taken the country by storm with its sensational music. But it also has embedded in its lively action some food-for-thought nuggets about relationships and emotional health. Here are a few key takeaways for parents: [NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD!] 1.…
Beat the Monday Blues with Sunday Lavender
In a coaching session, Karen shared that their family’s weekly schedule seemed to take them captive every Sunday night. Lilly, their third-grader, unofficially declared it “Moan and groan about Monday morning” time. The whole family would get drawn into her…