New Year’s Resolutions For Parents
This article covers twenty-six resolutions to help you begin the New Year with renewed parenting focus and commitment.
Continue reading
Some Good Sound Christmas Advice (For All Year)
Your children need to hear that they have a great future ahead of them, that being different is a GOOD thing. Praise them. Value what’s important. Make 2013 radically different–you can change your family tree and break these generational patterns for good. But it doesn’t happen without you taking action. Continue reading
Is There Really a Santa? Tips for Answering the Santa Question
What are you going to say when you hear the Santa question? Be ready by reading this article. Continue reading
Parents – Cut Yourself a Little Slack!
Many moms and dads are filled with self-doubt, but the reality is that most of the judgments we make about our parental abilities are unnecessary. A good parent is a confident, modern parent. Rid yourself of the guilt and worries about being a good parent and go on to enjoy parenthood and the joy that it brings. Continue reading
Dealing with Lying: The Do’s and Don’ts
Jason Roberts listened to his son’s explanation of the missing cookies and then called him a liar. Brenda Taylor thought her three-year-old’s lies were cute, so she ignored them. Yee Chen told her daughter that if she told the truth this time, she would let it go. This article discusses ways to help your children develop truth telling as a virtue. Continue reading
Sharing Our Spiritual Beliefs with Our Children
Our deep beliefs regarding what is sacred in living and dying will strongly influence how we live day to day. Exposing this part of ourselves to our children can form the basis of a powerful bonding experience. Also, it will impart to our young ones some basic tools with which they can begin to build up their own beliefs about life and the larger purpose of it. Continue reading
Helping Preteens Deal With Peer Pressure
If you have a preteen, then be prepared. Peer pressure usually escalates in middle school and, if your child doesn’t know how to adequately handle it, high school can be brutal. There are a few key ways that you can help your preteen deal with peer pressure better: teach them about what peer pressure is, offer them ways to cope with it, and keep the lines of communication open. Continue reading
Playing the Sporting Game
Softball, soccer, basketball, horseback riding, swimming, hockey, or volleyball—the sport doesn’t matter. The guidelines for parents remain the same. Show support for your child while they are learning or practicing a sport, and consider the following ideas so that they also learn about sportmanship. Continue reading
Cell Phones: How Old Should a Child Be?
Cell phones are indeed a novel gadget to have and they are getting cooler by the minute, but in many situations cell phones are being treated like toys. If this is the case in your family and your young child doesn’t absolutely need one for safety, then it may be wise to wait until your child has a more defined sense of responsibility. Continue reading
Six Obstacles to Talking to Your Children About Sex
Don’t leave the sexual education of your children in the hands of the school, television, or their peer group. Seize the teaching moments your children lay before you. Overcome the obstacles listed in this article. Reclaim your role as primary sex educator for your children. Begin today. Continue reading
A Quiz To Determine If You Are A Committed Parent
Are you a committed parent? Do you place family first? Is your success at home as important as the success you achieve in other areas of your life? Would you like to find out just how committed you really are to your children and the role of parenting? If so, take the quiz included in this article. Continue reading
Understanding Development During The Teens Years
“Just wait until they’re teenagers!” is a phrase often uttered by parents, usually with some degree of dread. People often talk about “having teenagers” like it’s the worst thing that can happen to a person, akin to “having the plague.” The good news is that no one is going to just drop a teenager off at your doorstep one day, complete with a bad attitude and the music you hate. Your teenager is still your child, your helpless newborn whose toes you counted and kissed the day they were born. Continue reading
Understanding Child Development From Ages 4 to 12
The stage in which children are no longer babies, but are not yet teens, is one of great developmental strides in cognitive ability. Children also experience a gradual yet dramatic increase in maturity and independence during these years. Continue reading
Understanding Child Development from Birth to Three Years
For parents, those first sleepless days with a newborn are a whirlwind of crying, nursing, and diaper changes. For the newborn, however, this is a time of utmost importance when it comes to growth and learning. From birth to 3 years old, children learn the basics of their world through experiences that set the foundation for the rest of their lives. Continue reading
Helping Your Child Make Smooth Transitions
It takes time for a parent to create conditions conducive to producing readiness for a smooth transition. It takes time for a child to get used to and embrace a new situation. It takes time for a parent to tune into and respond effectively to a child’s positive and negative reactions to the change. To smooth the transition time for your child, take the time to read and consider the five steps to effective transitions. Continue reading
Keeping Your Kids Safe From Predators
Whether there are actually more predators trying to harm kids, or whether our awareness as a society of these predators has actually increased, more parents are becoming aware of their need to protect their children. Part of the problem with protecting your kids from predators is that, like a lion that sneaks up on its prey in the wilderness, child predators are often good at blending in and not raising people’s suspicions. Continue reading
Co-Parenting Helps Keep Both Spouses Involved with Their Children
This recent press release states that though there are challenges, parents and children benefit from co-parenting after divorce. Continue reading
Five Ways to Teach Your Children to Change Their World
Changing the world around us is really as simple as changing ourselves and the things in our immediate environment. Equip your children for their future by teaching them valuable principles by which they can independently make their world a better place to live. Continue reading
Important Advice for Step-Dads
The hidden agenda is one of the first difficulties a stepfather runs into. The mother, her children, or both, may have expectations about what you will do, but may not give you a clear picture of what those expectations are. You may have a hidden agenda of your own. You may see your new stepchildren as spoiled and unruly and decide they need discipline. Or, you may find that after years of privacy, a bustling house full of children disrupts your routine. Continue reading
Why Teens Contemplate Suicide
Many teens that survive a suicide attempt have said that they were trying to escape a seemingly impossible situation or avoid unrelenting bad feelings. They say that they don’t want to die as much as they are want relief from painful emotions. Some teens may be feeling rejected, worthless, or they may feel like they are a disappointment to family members. Continue reading
