With everything going on in the world right now, I'm finding myself with less emotional reserves to be patient and gentle with my kids (who really need it right now!). If you're feeling the same way, we've got a great guest post today from Mary L. Pulido, Ph.D., the Executive Director of The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Psst - For additional tips on managing stress and trauma, please consider registering for Dr. Pulido’s upcoming webinar “Stress Management for … [Read more...]
A Positive Parenting Approach for Changing Kids’ Challenging Behaviors
Image Credit: © Suzette Pauwels (text & graphic added) | 01.01.11 | CC by 2.0 As we all continue to deal with shelter-in-place, I thought it would be the perfect time to re-post a piece written by one of my blogging buddies, Amanda from Not Just Cute. She shares a wonderful method for dealing with problem behaviors in a positive and effective manner... And make sure you don't miss the extra-helpful printable for trying the techniques out in your home. If you've been a … [Read more...]
2-Minute Strategies for Strengthening Your Child’s “Mental Game” in Sports and in Life
In our fast-moving world today, there is barely enough time to squeeze in a meal together, let alone time to work on the emotional development of your kids. Yet, no matter how well you provide for their every need, if you neglect your child’s mental well-being then you are doing them a disservice in life. But, before I explain how you can find that precious time, you need to understand the following facts: Parents are the epicenter of their child’s world and creators of their … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Should I Stop My Kid’s Weird Habit?
Little kids have weird - sometimes super gross - habits, and any parent will tell you so. A lot of them are pretty standard. At one point or another over the last eleven years, I’ve asked my kids to please stop biting that toenail, or to get their finger out of their nose and use a tissue, or to stop sucking on the collar of that shirt or that chunk of hair. But over the last six months or so, I’ve repeatedly asked our almost four-year-old to stop twirling. Sounds like no big deal, right? But … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Should You Send Your Ex A Father’s Day Card?
This will be our tenth Father’s Day since the divorce. Like every other year, I’ll take my two sons to the store and help them pick out gifts for their father. Some years I’m surprised I didn’t get lock jaw from forcing myself to smile as I helped them wrap their presents, and I can’t say I’ve never stooped to passive aggressive gifting. (Please don’t ask me about the garden gnome.) It wasn’t always a joy to spend money on my ex-husband, particularly since I was mothering on a … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: How I became a Hockey Mom against my Better Judgement
I walked into the hockey rink at 6:30 am on a Saturday. Now, school didn’t even start until 8:00 am, so 6:30 was not a time I was normally awake, nor was it a time I wanted to be awake. The coach had promised to bring coffee, but I didn’t see anything resembling coffee anywhere and the concession stand was closed because the people who ran concessions were home in bed—where all good people belonged at 6:30 am on a Saturday. I hadn’t intended on becoming a hockey mother. Unlike when … [Read more...]
Positive Parenting Gold: “Listen, Allow, Support, Repeat”
Yesterday was a crazy day (power outages, cancelled activities, melt downs, etc.) and let's just say, I wasn't at my positive parenting best. That afternoon, during a 5-minute period when all three of the kids had miraculously found something to entertain them, I picked up my copy of Parents Magazine. (Do you guys subscribe? I've found it to be surprisingly useful month after month.) Inside I spied an article on great podcasts for parents and immediately picked up my phone and subscribed … [Read more...]
How 5 Rings Are Going to Make Me a Better Mom this Year
How many of you resolved to yell less at your kids this year? Actually, let me amend that, to just be nicer to your kids? I ask because I've seen a whole lot of stuff going around the web lately about how to stop yelling. Apparently yelling is the new spanking for our generation. I get it. Yelling at your kids totally sucks. Even while you're doing it you are already regretting it, yet you can't seem to make it stop. Nobody wants to parent that way - for sure. But I'd bet that most of … [Read more...]
Back by Popular Demand!! Re-Boot Your Parenting in 1 Hour
I don't know if it's just me, but I find that the beginning of a new school year is a great time for a parenting re-boot. Summer's over and we're doing our best to return to our normal routines (and to work on any behavior issues that may have crept up as we've all indulged in lax routines over the past few months). It just seems like the perfect moment to step back and take stock of our parenting techniques (what's working and what's not) as we embark on another year. Which … [Read more...]