Are You Teaching Your Child to Ignore You?
Parent makes a request. No response by child. Slightly stronger request. No response. Demanding yell that communicates “I really mean business!” Child reacts with fear and does what was asked. When parents are the ones who don’t listen John was chatting in a church lobby. His son quietly said, “Daddy,” and patted John’s leg to […]
Whoops, There’s Sex in Our Family Night Movie!
When our children were in elementary school, we chose to watch Tootsie with them. It’s a PG-rated movie from the early 80’s that I remembered as quite funny and appropriate for the kids (ages about 8-12) to watch. But I had forgotten about the scene where it’s strongly implied that Dustin Hoffman’s character has […]
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 operating from an abundance of God’s grace and truth in our lives, we can effectively […]
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 dressed for baseball, take a shower… Just to get the kid to tie his shoes […]
What to do when your kids give you a defiant “NO”
When kids say “No!” parents tend to react rather than respond. Reacting tends to lead to unconstructive power struggles that follow this basic pattern: Child: “No!” Parent: “Yes!” Child: “No!” Parent: “Yes or else!” Child: “I don’t care!” Parent: “Well I’ll show you who’s boss!” Now parent and child are in a power struggle, and […]
The Day My 7-Year-Old Sang “Let’s Go All the Way Tonight”
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 world is that they can use the wisdom they’ve developed in our home to […]
“Sometimes My Kids Deserve To Be Yelled At!”
Recently in a parent coaching session a parent shared a feeling that I’ve felt a few times myself: “Sometimes my kids deserve to be yelled at when I’ve asked them to do something multiple times and they ‘forget’ or don’t do it!” Not only might we feel like they deserve it, but it also feels […]
The Best Defense against “Hook-up Culture” is a Good Offense
American culture is more sexually charged than at any other time in history. Sex is no longer valued by the general population as an intimate expression of love and commitment to be shared in a committed marriage. It is viewed instead as a normal part of growing up. Adolescents often consider themselves “ready” for it […]
What did Steve Jobs know about parenting that you don’t?
In a New York Times article, a journalist recalls how he once commented to Steve Jobs that his kids must love the iPod. Surprisingly Jobs replied bluntly, “They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.” Jobs knew firsthand the potential dangers of technology. But how did he avoid […]
Are You “Present” with Your Kids?
Most of us would agree there are many theories on the best way to educate our children. There’s public schools, private schools, charter schools, home schools, co-ops, and any combination of these! Regardless of which paradigm you have for the best way to educate your kids, you most likely have an important underlying goal in your parenting: […]
