Give the Gift of Connection
Tag teens
Beat Boredom This Summer With These 4 Tips
Research has shown that being bored is not such a bad thing for kids. Boredom can foster creativity and patience. Yet, when a parent hears that tired phrase, “I’m bored!” again and again, we may feel the need to fix…
5 Ways to Find Sanity During Family Car Trips
Ahh, the bliss of car-trip vacations. Do family car trips tend to drive you insane? Does it feel like your kids will have more memories of annoyed parents than exciting memories of adventure? Whether our children are toddlers or teens,…
Prep Your Kids for a Responsible School Year
Getting an education is a tremendous privilege. Most parents recognize that future opportunities are built on the many layers of learning that happen during the school years. That’s why when kids make poor choices at school, either behavioral or academic,…
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:…
What to Do When I Don’t Approve of My Child’s Friends
Peer relationships carry increasing influence as children grow up. And sometimes, these relationships can be reason for parents to feel increasingly anxious. Kids may choose good friends or they may not. Parents, wanting what’s best for their kids, have a…
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 Daughter Asked for an iPod Again… But This Time Was Different.
My daughter approached me with a typical question — one I’ve heard one hundred seventy-three times (but who’s counting). “Dad, can I have an iPod Touch?” But this time, her approach was different. She made a good pitch — she had…
“It was hard to be mad when you were so kind to me.”
In my role as a parenting speaker I do a lot of role plays with people in the audience. Though I had seen a lot of yelling, whining, and laughter from these role plays, I had never seen tears —…
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…
Want a Responsible Teen? Start Now!
I just watched a video from a youth ministry leader. He intentionally stated one reason it’s so hard to relate to teens, and unintentionally stated the real reason. His intended explanation is that teens are hard to relate to…