Tag responsibility
A Connected Family Story
One of the cool things about Connected Families is the people on our staff. We all understand that parenting takes a lot of work, a lot of intentional planning, and that the outcome is worth it. We, too, have been…
Equip Kids To Apologize Like They Mean It
When kids fight, parents typically try to resolve things by telling the kids they have to say they’re sorry. While parents may be aware that this can be a very shallow, “go through the motions” sort of consequence for kids, they may…
Are We Setting Our Kids Up to Be Uncooperative?
Parents can get in ruts. That’s true for me and I’m pretty sure it is for you, too. One rut that is familiar to many is the hurried race out the door because “we’re going to be late!!” Or how…
When My Child Asked for an iPod, Here’s What I Said…
In this article I wrote about how my junior high daughter creatively and proactively asked for an iPod by preparing a well-thought-out list of answers to concerns she thought I might have. Here’s the rest of the story! My daughter’s proactive…
My Kids’ Messes Drive Me CRAZY!
For years I have struggled with the mess that our lively, spontaneous, creative, frequently disorganized children made at high speed. I used to call it “Trash and Dash.” Since their father has somewhat more “relaxed” standards of housekeeping than I…
“If My Kid’s a Slob Now, How Will He Hold a Job Later?”
“When I look at my son’s messy room, it puts a knot in my stomach.” Joe was insightful and honest as he described his emotions about his son’s room. “Just the sight of his dresser drawers hanging out with stuff…
Whose Problem Is It?
Deep inside most parents is a strong urge to control their children. It may seem beneficial or even “work” for a few years, but there are diminishing returns if the goal of control is not given up significantly by…
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…
An Unconventional Solution to a Child’s Resistance
We often see a common parenting cycle when kids are prone to anxiety. In short, it goes like this: Child feels anxious Worried, but well-meaning parent “encourages” the child toward to overcome the anxiety by pushing the child The…
When Kids Stay Irresponsible
Brian and Jana were very concerned about how much work it was to get their 8-year-old son, Brady, to do much of anything – look up from his book when they talked, get ready for school in the morning, get…