Parenting Articles

Are you concerned about making the same “mistakes” in bringing up your children as you think your parents did in raising you? Do you watch other parents and wonder if the way they discipline their kids is the way you should too? Have you tried to be a strong disciplinarian but find that it doesn’t feel right to you and you aren’t getting the results you want? nnIf you have sought out this article then you are probably looking for a parenting style that fits your famil

The divorce rate nationally hovers at around fifty percent but it is several percentage points higher in Maricopa County, according to census figures. I believe divorce is a national tragedy, as it is terribly stressful and often expensive for the involved adults, quite sad for the parents of the couple, and absolutely traumatic for the children. A major reason for this unfortunate divorce statistic is that most couples do not learn how to settle their issues.

I was recently recalling a time when my husband and I attended a friend’s high school graduation party.  As we listened to countless couples toast their child’s achievements and accomplishments, I was struck by how many mothers willingly and openly expressed personal sorrow in anticipation of their child leaving home. On one hand, these mother’s were undoubtedly swollen with pride for their child. On the other, the anxiety I sensed between the numerous accolades and

School refusal stems from emotional distress and anxiety which could be related to a range of issues either at home, school or both. A recent study reveals that 1 in 5 British children experience phobia or school refusal which has shown to be more prevalent in children's age groups aged 5 - 6 and 10 - 11 years. The research also revealed that many parents were not aware of the conditions and those who were aware of it, experienced a major lack of information.

As a parent, we do the best job we can with the resources, knowledge and wisdom we possess. Something I have just recently been able to put into words, and thought I would pass along to each of you, is the fact that we need to experience the world through the eyes, ears and hearts of our ...

There is a dilemma in parenting right now regarding the concept of “core values.” How does a parent build core values in a child? Let’s begin by talking about the innate and natural abilites that exist within a child by making the assumption that there is, in most people, the ability to self-regulate. We must understand this self-regulation mechanism and understand its value in parenting. To begin with, let me present a metaphor. When a person stands up, there is something called “equilibrium” that takes place.

“Resonating With My Life’s Purpose”nnn“It’s choice – not chance – that determines your destiny.”---Jean Nidetch Many years have past since those “in between years” of struggle and uncertainty. Following false symbols of success ...

Hopefully, society is well past the "politically correct" theory (an oxymoron in a democratic society) that the ONLY difference between a male and a female is in socialization-—that aside from reproductive organs, there is no difference between the sexes neurologically, psychologically, or emotionally.

Each New Year brings with it resolutions many of us declare and intend to keep. We decide on things as simple as eating healthier, exercising more, starting a new diet, to complex issues such as starting a new career, finding a new relationship, or becoming a parent for the first time (or ...

Whenever Laura sees a dog, she shrieks and clings to her mother’s leg. Thomas runs the other way. And Samuel just freezes, wide eyed in terror. Each of these children is afraid of dogs. As parents, we strive to teach our kids how to cope with life and its challenges. Yet some parents ...

A young mother wrote to me: "As the mother of a toddler, I'm really grateful to moms and dads who've given me great advice and support. But at the same time, other mom's comments also have made me feel inadequate." "Are we all sensitive and a little defensive," she asks,"because we love our kids so much? Maybe we feel threatened by other people's choices, because we see them as an implicit criticism of our choices." Alte atively she suggests, “Maybe we're more hyper-aware,

When raising and disciplining children, many parents rely on rules. In reality, though, the use of the term “rules” in parenting is often counterproductive. Rules are used to control, not inspire. Although essential in games, rules are counterproductive in relationships. Think of it this way: If a rule is broken, a mindset of enforcement is naturally created. The adult’s thinking goes something like, “If I don’t do something about this, it will occur again and I’ll lose my authority.” The situation between the adult and child immediately becomes adversarial.

You simply locate the back-to-school aisle and evaluate the list of play school supplies for your child. Though, queries and anxiety arise for prospective kindergarten parents about how to encourage a victorious school experience that does not come out on a neatly printed list. Early Childhood Education reports that an optimistic kindergarten experience sets the period for future school successes. Make of list of essential information you be supposed to know before your kid b

Oxymoron or truth? We all want to feel good, but what do we do when we don’t feel good? Maybe someone has hurt us…we’re disappointed…maybe we’re mad or feeling really heavy…depressed. Eckhart Tolle refers to the pain body in his books and with the recent attention given to A New Earth, people’s ...

Why is it so hard to teach children to be loving and grateful? Is there a Gratitude Formula that increases love and character in kids? Yes, you'll find it inside along with 5 ways to teach it to your kids. Joseph Stalin said, "Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs." If you agree, read no ...

Belief is usually defined as a conviction of the truth of a proposition without its verification; therefore a belief is a subjective mental interpretation derived from perceptions, contemplation or communication.[1] What we believe is basically who we are. It drives just about everything we do, ...

When families gather together for a celebration, each participant brings their own history, behavior and expectations. When these different expectations and behaviors clash, the celebrations are often far from the peaceful, loving gatherings depicted in TV holiday commercials! However, when common problems can be anticipated and planned for ahead of time, there is a greater likelihood of a joyful celebration rather than a stressful experience.

Do you ever find yourself rushing around in the morning desperately trying to get your kids off to school? Feeling rushed and hassled first thing in the morning is not a good way to start a day! Unfortunately many parents and children report this is exactly how they feel in the mornings. How can we change our behavior so that mornings feel calm instead of chaotic?

It goes without saying; mothers play a very important role in our lives. Many articles and books have been written about this. There is a tremendous amount of research about being a mother. It has been dissected from every angle and from numerous counseling theories. Attachment theory says that Infants form attachments to any consistent caregiver who is sensitive and responsive in social interactions with them. The quality of the social engagement is more influential than the amount of time spent.

If you have ever stared in amazement at your teenager or grandchild wondering what in the world they are so upset about, you are not alone. Sometimes their behavior is odd or even strange. Other times it is simply crazy. Today I want to discuss the common conce s that most children between the ...

Conscious Parenting Skill-Building, Week 1 Let’s face it, we are a loud family. rn rnI come from a family of yellers and despite my best intentions, I am about midway through raising a family of loud children.rn rnThis is not the way I want us to be.rn rnI grew up as one of ten children. Making yourself heard in our house was sometimes a challenge. We all learned to yell (as well as to talk at the same time, like the ladies on “The View”), at an early age.rn rnWhile I b

Rainy days with stir-crazy kids and dogs can try your sanity. When your kids wail that there’s nothing fun to do, have them try some of these simple games with the family dog. Hansel & Gretel Trails. This is a really basic activity, but kids love it! Give your children a small bowl of treats ...

We all know them. We all have one of those mother’s at the PTA meeting who always comes with baked goods, has 2.5 happy smiling well-adjusted kids, perfect hair and a gorgeous husband. We all have one of those friends who never seems to fight with their parents, plenty of allowance money, ...

One of the most common expressions parents can be heard saying is, “I don’t understand why he’s/she’s doing that”. There are eight, very common reasons why children misbehave. It is extremely useful for parents to know these because if they can pinpoint the root cause of the misbehaviour, they can be more successful at reducing it. Listed here are the eight most common reasons why children misbehave and a solution to help reduce or eliminate the problem: 1) They want to test whether caregivers will enforce rules.

This is a book to be enjoyed, savoring each thought, description of research, and idea. Not to be rushed through because it’s packed with important information. It’s a relief and a pleasure to learn what our common sense and intuition tells us is backed up by the literature. I share many of the details of the Singers’ work and have tried to reorganize some of it for better flow. I often use their own words or close to it, because they are so compelling. The Singers’ o

A single factor that is common with all parents, is the fact that they worry about their children! It is a part of being a parent and you will discover countless pressures on youngsters these days that it is only normal to worry that they may be getting into some kind of difficulty. It is absolutely normal to be concerned that they may be involved in narcotics, criminal offenses or some sort of poor conduct. Even when you believe that you raised your children nicely, there ne

If you have more than one child in your family, you are intimately acquainted with sibling rivalry and probably can use an extra parenting tip or two in that area. After more than 26 years of parenting and four terrific kids, here are my top five tips for dealing with those pesky brothers and sisters. 1. Forget fair -- but not completely. Kids have an innate sense of fai ess. As parents we want to teach our kids to be fair. Problem is, life is often not fair. Often kids'

There is no question that during the holiday season, many of us experience more stress than we usually do in our busy lives. It seems as though we have so much to do; we don’t know where to start and we can become so disconnected, taking on a more Scrooge-like persona! We have certainly had a ...

Responsibility! As smart “KidSkills” parents, we want our children to grow up to be responsible for themselves. This includes taking responsibility for their actions, commitments, outcomes, and decisions. n When your child was born, you assumed full responsibility for her. Over the ...

Are you conce ed that your child with a disability is not learningnacademics at a grade and age level pace? Have you thought that you child may benefit from a curriculum of functional skills? Would younlike to learn about a resource that can help you learn more aboutnfunctional curriculums for ...

Assessing and Managing School-Age Children with Behavioral Problems Your child is about 7 years old. The teacher reports problems listening in class, sitting still and getting into conflict with peers. First thought always seems to be ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). But what if ...

According to West Ridge Academy, rebellion has become part of growing up among many teenagers today. Experts even claim that brief stretches of rebellion may even be healthy for adolescents, but that it should not go overboard otherwise it will pose a serious threat to themselves as well as to those who are around them. Due to this, experts are advising parents not to disregard any signs of rebellion from their teens and act as swiftly as possible in order to address any ling

The best place to observe the wide range of parental discipline styles is any grocery store between the evening hours of four and seven.

Parent Coaching Defined and Described As a parent coach and former school psychologist, I provide personalized parent education to parents whose children have issues with behavior. Rather than doing therapy, where the parent needs a diagnosis to get help, I teach him or her (or both, ideally) ...

Enforcing rules on children is necessary for effective parenting. Rules promote safety and structure to a child’s life that create order and set them up for success at home and school. nn Situations usually arise when parent’s attempt to enforce these rules and a child resists. This leads to parent is nagging, cajoling, and negotiating with the child to compile.nn Setting up effective rules will make instilling positive discipline much easier. The follow pointers will sho

Moods can be contagious. Imagine you have a throbbing toothache. You sit down in the dentist’s chair in pain. The dentist enters the room in a cheerful mood. If you catch the dentist’s mood, you relax a bit and he breezes through the procedure. If the dentist catches your mood, what would happen? He’d wince when you winced. As your knuckles turn white grabbing the arms of the chair, his knuckles turn white grabbing his instruments. As your panic grows, his panic grows.

Surrogacy can be an expensive process for intended parents. The intended parents would need to cover certain expenses like medical bills, surrogate agency fees, legal fees and other expenses incurred by a surrogate mother during pregnancy. The entire cost of surrogacy would normally range from $20,000-$30,000. Here are some helpful tips for intended parents to save money on surrogacy: 1. Save money in advance. Intended parents would need to cut back on high end items like car

Not many parents set out to raise a thirty-year-old Nintendo player who sprawls on the couch all day sucking up pizza and Diet Pepsi. Yet many parents unknowingly subvert their positive intention of raising responsible, confident, fully functioning children. They do it by unconsciously using Parent Talk that allows and encourages helplessness.nnWhat about your Parent Talk? Does the language you use with your children build autonomy and independence? Or is it filled with words

I remember, countless times as a kid, when I would pepper my parents with every question imaginable. Why is the sky blue? Do toads give you warts? What is the distance between the sun and the moon? Who is the fastest NFL football player? Where is Alaska? Who…What…Where…Why…and on and on. The combination of learning to talk and verbalizing your thoughts coupled with a burning curiosity is a powerful combination! Kids are natural, enthusiastic learners; their instinct is to ask questions, to probe, to explore, examine, and experiment.r

Parents are saying discipline, consequences, time out and sticker’s don’t work. Parents are presenting as more and more defeated when it comes to managing the behavior of their children. They have a long list of tried that – didn’t work scenarios including many of the more popular parenting programs. What’s up with that? Why does it seem near impossible to get kids to listen? What can parents do differently?

When children swear, it certainly catches our attention! How should we respond when this happens? There are a number of ways to handle it depending on the situation. Trying Out Swearing Young children often try swearing at some point. One day our daughter was coming home from preschool when she dropped something while getting out of the car and exclaimed "F#@$!" My husband calmly asked her if she knew what that word meant.

This checklist is a very brief outline of skills that are needed by most children as they begin a structured school environment, such as kindergarten. If you have conce s about whether or not your child is ready for the kind of learning that kindergarten provides, talk with some of his or her potential teachers. Ask friends what experiences their children have had at that particular school. Read books about the developmental stages of children such as "Your five-year-old", by

It is not always easy to find a good babysitter for your children. As more and more people need to use babysitters the good ones get harder to find. There are many ways to find a babysitter. One of those ways is to use a babysitter agency. Babysitter agencies do the hard work for you. They do all of the leg work involved in finding the perfect sitter. You just need to tell them what you expect from the babysitter and they will line up babysitters that fit your needs. Finding

Your child has just been diagnosed with a disabling condition. Suddenly you are surrounded by professionals. Usually they are:nn Using words so long they give you a headache n Wanting permission to do a test you aren't familiar with or n Asking you choose between options you don't fully understandnnAre you overwhelmed yet? Receiving a diagnosis is almost always a double-edged sword. Part of you is relieved to finally have a name for what you are dealing with, but another part

How can parents help their child do homework if they don’t know what the assignment is or don’t have the materials necessary to complete it? They can’t! Organizational skills are not innate and they are often a particular struggle for ADHD children. Taking time to create and individualized organizational system can make a huge difference especially for students with ADD and ADHD. Identify the Assignment and Know the Due Date

Parents know their children best. As their children’s advocates, parents sometimes need to share information with the teacher to help students get the maximum experience out of their school day. Without this information, teachers may misunderstand behaviors, attitudes and responses. Here are some ideas to think about as you plan for your next parent teacher conference. 1. Prioritize the Information

Psychological Abuse Psychological abuse leaves the victim blaming herself and questioning her own perceptions over the behaviour of the abusive partner and it can start very insidiously. Psychological abuse occurs when one’s feelings, thoughts, preferences, desires, needs, appearance or ...

"Money doesn't grow on trees"... I'm sure that sounds familiar. In fact, maybe you grew up hearing that. And today you may even say it to your children. So what does that statement really imply? Perhaps money doesn't come easily, or you need to work hard to have money. And with that message, ..."Money doesn't grow on trees"... I'm sure that sounds familiar. In fact, maybe you grew up hearing that. And today you may even say it to your children. So what does that statement rea

Are you the parent of a young child that is conce ed about thei development? Does your child, have unusual behavior, delays in speech,nrefuses or is limited in their contact with you and their peers? Thisnarticle will briefly discuss the definition of the disorder,ndiagnostic tools usedto ...

As cyberbullying has emerged with the development of technology, for many parents, it may feel a bit like uncharted territory. On many difficult topics, We often relate to our children by similar experiences during our childhood. However, due to its recent appearance, cyberbullying is likely not something you experienced as a kid. Answer these five questions to help you begin to identify if your child has become the target of cyberbullying. Have you noticed a change in emotio