Index: Skills

“Mommy, what makes the moon shine?”askedmy six-year-old daughter, Londyn. “The moon reflects the light of the sun,” I responded. After a brief discussion about the moon and the sun, I realized that her question was really profound. Innocence almost always finds truth.I’m grateful for that.The moon reflects the light from the sun. It never turns its back on the sun… Read more »

“Mom! Mom! Mom!” said a boy at the swimming pool one day.The boy’s mother didn’t answer back. She was busy setting up her pool chair.“Mom! Can you get me my swim noodle? Mom?” the boy repeated.The mother still said nothing. The anxiety was obviously building in the boy.Soon, the mother was annoyed with the boy. She walked over to him… Read more »

We might think that teaching the Four Basic skills is mainly for the children. They’re the ones who need them the most, right? Well, maybe adults need them just as much as the children do.… Read more »

“…We taught the 4 basic skills and the kids had a lot of funrole-playing the way to respond to the different situations, they especially loved disagreeing appropriately! 🙂 Well, I hadn’t determined what our consequences were going to be yet so I told them we would just practice the 4 basic skills this week. I’ve learned from this that it… Read more »

“Enseñanza de los hijos: Un Hogar Unido” está basado en la serie de seminarios populares “Enseñando a Gobernarse a Sí Mismos” de Nicholeen. Este libro muestra a los padres las habilidades comunicativas necesarias, a fin de enseñar a los hijos a gobernarse a sí mismos. Las familias pueden llegar a ser más felices por medio de un ambiente familiar adecuado... Read more »

A teenage girl talking back to her mother in an airport about her emotions said, “We have to let our emotions out. I’m being true to myself. I won’t stuff my emotions just because you don’t want to hear them!” The mother, who had told her daughter that she couldn’t use her phone anymore, was correcting her daughter for talking… Read more »

A lot of children have selective hearing; have you noticed? Some of this selective hearing is planned and some isn’t. They really don’t hear us correctly sometimes. We can do something to make sure this doesn’t happen as often. Have you ever said don’t run down the hall, and the first thing your child does is run down the hall?… Read more »

I frequently get asked if Teaching Self-Government principles still work while you’re on a family vacation. The answer is a wholehearted yes! I’ve used the principles on many trips over the years, once for three weeks straight during two different vacations.… Read more »

Over the last year, my niece has gone through a change. The once happy, helpful girl changed into a whiny, depressed, girl that didn’t look at life the same. One day I got left home with the all the children whilethe adultswent shopping. While I was home with the children I started giving instructions for everyone to clean things up… Read more »

https://vimeo.com/79349963   Just so you know, I gave her 10 more minutes. We don’t have it on camera, because the battery died.… Read more »

A few years ago, a reader wrote, “My kids love being able to disagree appropriately, but I don’t want them to do it every single time! They’re smart and have good reasons for wanting to do things a different way, and sometimes I’m happy to let them change our direction.But I don’t like taking the time to listen to their… Read more »

Considering the consistent shouts for equality for women and the blatant attacks on motherhood, motherhood needs defending. I’m fairly certain public school had a negative effect on me and my identity. When I was a small girl, I loved nothing more than playing house, taking care of my baby dolls, and babysitting. But, by the time I was in the… Read more »