“You’re stupid!” says the frustrated child. The parent feels annoyed, even a bit angry and responds, “You can’t talk to me that way! You’re grounded for the rest of the day! You go to your room and think about what…
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…
Kids need encouragement. But not all affirmation is created equal! Some affirmation is empty — like popcorn or cotton candy — but nourishing affirmation builds kids up by helping them see how their actions benefit others or build their…
Painting pictures in my mind has been very helpful in my parenting journey. For example, when I’m upset and feel like my head is going to explode I imagine a balloon in my lungs filling and releasing air. When my…
What are the best tools parents have for building wisdom in kids? Questions! Often times we forget that a simple, well-timed question can help our kids grow and learn much better than a long-winded lecture. Consider the following benefits of…
A prayer to memorize: God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know that it’s me.
The day I overheard my 7-year-old daughter singing “Let’s go all the way tonight” was the day I knew our family had to do something different with music in our house. My end goal when I launch my kids into…
The Search Institute has done years of research on how kids turn out to be healthy, contributing members of society. They are probably most well-known for their list of 40 developmental assets that kids need to be successful as adults.…
Once upon a time, near a woods far away, there was a family named the Scrumpkins. Bingle (the dad) and Kalinda (the mom) were fearful of what might happen to their children if they explored the dark, foreboding woods behind…
