WWJD… with a Liar?
You notice the slight nervousness as your child answers, somewhat evasively. You have that parental intuition that he is lying to you, and as you check out the facts, you find that you’re right. You feel angry, hurt, discouraged, and confused about what to do. You give consequences, just like the last time, but the […]
Helping Kids Deal with Trauma [video]
Broken bones, scary surgeries, or moving to a new school — all these things can be traumatic experiences for kids to handle. How can parents best help their kids survive and even learn from difficult situations? To answer this question, Chad Hayenga sat down with CF co-founder Lynne Jackson. (If you cannot see the video, […]
How to Help Kids Follow Family Rules
When it comes to family rules, a common mistake parents make is not clearly defining the rules! What is acceptable and what is not in a family can be a moving target depending on the whims of a parent’s mood, fatigue, or even their indigestion. One day shoes scattered in the entryway are ignored or […]
Kids and Hygiene: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
“Honey, let’s go, we’re going to be late!” You sigh in relief as you hear the pitter-patter of little feet running to the front door — only to grimace again as you see that your child’s hair hasn’t seen a comb in days. What am I going to do? They’re going to be a laughingstock […]
What Causes Power Struggles and How Can I Stop Them?
Recently CF co-founder Lynne Jackson sat down with Chad Hayenga, one of CF’s Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists, to get his take on a common parenting issue: power struggles. Click the image above to watch the full video. (If you can’t see the image, click here to go to the video.) The full video transcript is […]
Beat Boredom with These Four 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 again and again, we may feel the need to “fix” the boredom problem and keep our kids happy and busy. Does this work? Possibly. But, only […]
How to Make Sure Your Kids Will Want to Stay
What if the way you disciplined your kids had the power to turn their hearts toward or away from the safety of your love, your home, and even God?
5 Ways to Communicate Love No Matter What (Even in Misbehavior!)
This is part of a series on “Discipline that Connects®: Four Powerful Messages All Kids Long to Hear”. Communicating “love no matter what” when kids misbehave can seem like a tall order. But when these five simple changes come from a calmed heart, they can powerfully turn the tide of negative discipline encounters.
The Most Important Time to Love Your Child
What might happen if every time we disciplined our children we remembered this powerful message of God’s love for us: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
Four Powerful Messages All Kids Long to Hear
Every parent wants their child to choose good, right behavior. Every family consists of real, mistake-prone people. No one is perfect. How do we teach our children to learn from their mistakes and help them grow up well? Discipline often consists of merely correcting wrong behavior when it should also enable inward, heart transformation. […]