When Kids Don’t Listen
“How do I get my child to listen?!!”Listening when you’re addressed by someone is a great life skill, but one that often our children don’t seem too eager to learn! Frustrated parents often say, “I hate it, but I just…
Tag listening
6 Practical Ways to Show Love to Kids
One of the best times to show love to your kids is when they are misbehaving. Anger, frustration and lecturing are standard reactions to a kid who does something wrong, but do they work to change behavior? I worked with…
Don’t Get Busted by Your Kids: Watch, Ask, and Listen!
A mother of five told us that her older children once “busted” her and her husband with an insightful observation: “We know you’re not listening when you say, ‘Wow, that’s great!’” The children were able to discern that the parents…
Want Kids to Value Your Advice? Try This.
Caroline was thoughtful as I described how our young adult kids call from time to time and ask us to help them think through a situation. “After they describe their dilemma, we usually ask them thoughtful questions to guide…
Communicate Love to Your Kids. Use Words When Necessary.
When kids melt down, we often advise parents to respond with empathy, by saying out loud what the kiddo might be feeling. But sometimes we can communicate everything we need to — without words.
How to Be a Safer Parent
Today we’d like to share with you a story from the blog of Bo, a dad who with his wife Jen took our online course and shared with us this beautiful story of their journey to become safer parents. We…
Questions: How Can I Ask Them When I’m Upset?
Teaching the art of asking good questions is a favorite goal in our daily work with parents. Why? Because we’ve learned that lectures and answers often shut kids down and build walls between parents and their kids, while good questions…
Practical Skills to Pick Up the Pieces After You Blow It
Are you wondering what to do when you blow it? Overcoming parenting mistakes isn’t so much about not making them (which is good because we made TONS of them), but about being intentional to develop three specific things that will help…
How do I talk to my kids about race?
Parents, are you struggling with how to address the recent racial tension that has exploded across the United States? At Connected Families we are on the side of Justice, Grace and Peace, without any judgment about how to legislate those…
Are You Teaching Your Child to Ignore You?
We’ve often heard parents say, “I hate to yell, but the kids just won’t listen until I do!” If the kids aren’t listening to requests, it may be about more than inattentiveness. It could be that the family culture does…