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Father correcting son

Voice Tone: How Do You Sound?

Dear Nicholeen,I attended your seminar in Bountiful.I certainly had many other choices about how to use that time and I am very glad that I chose to come.I glanced at your blog the day before and because of that I took the time to speak with and hug my upset daughter before leaving, even when I thought I was already running late.I didn’t miss a thing and I was so glad that I took time for her.

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Trade Time for Anger: Find Calmness and Patience

“You never can tell with bees,” said A.A. Milne’s cherished character Winne-the-Pooh. This was Pooh Bear’s naive way of saying he didn’t understand why bees did the things they did. He made his best guesses, but he always seemed to guess wrong and find himself in a prickled gorse bush — instead of feasting on

Trade Time for Anger: Find Calmness and Patience Read More »

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6 Tips for Making the Most of Your Car Time Together

Despite the fact that my parents worked very hard to provide for their growing family, some experiences were memorable in an uncomfortable way. I’ll never forget driving through Death Valley during the summer. It was 105 degrees in the middle of the night. We did our best to keep us all from roasting to death

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BusinessManAndWomanHighFive

Praise for Parents!

I want to thank you all for your great comments over the years regarding your success and transformation as parents! It’s so good to hear your stories.  I’m constantly receiving emails with comments like, “I’m learning that I have the same behavior that bothers me about my child,” or “I have [this/that] weakness that I’m working on.” Please keep your comments coming. What amazing examples you are of parents who are focused on governing themselves. I hope you are all happier because of what you have chosen to see in yourselves. Recognizing a problem is the first step toward freeing yourself.

Praise for Parents! Read More »

Falling Dominos

The Law of Cause and Effect is True

“Cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things.”

We cannot change cause and effect no matter how hard we try.Bad will always produce bad for someone and good will always produce good for someone.The law of cause and effect is true, even if the someone isn’t the person doing the good or the bad.

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Grumpy girl

Always Stay Consistent with Consequences Earned

“Yesterday my 8 year old was grumpy when asked to do something, so he earned a negative consequence. I asked him to choose a job from the job jar.I explained that the job would help him change his heart.He then got very cheerful and said he was sorry for being grumpy… and wanted to be allowed to not do the job because he had changed (after all, he reasoned, the attitude was the reason for the extra job).

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mom and teen

Stopping Conflicts Before They Start

A friend of mine asked me what she could do for her teenage exchange student. This student was in the middle of a multiple, day-long teenage tantrum. The mother had told her exchange student that she couldn’t attend a sleepover because the family doesn’t do sleepovers. The teenage exchange student, in turn, became very emotional

Stopping Conflicts Before They Start Read More »

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How to Reach the Heart of Your Child… and Yourself

Reaching a child’s heart is vital for awakening his conscience and morally training him to desire to make good choices, but structure also has a part to play in training the heart. This is a true story, and a new parenting lesson, of how to help a person understand the truths behind your teachings. Structure

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cinema covering eyes

The Illusion of Innocence Facing Today’s Children

In a world full of sexual depravity, diverse addictions, familial dysfunction, lascivious social platforms, manipulative media, and irate people of all ages, is it possible to even hope for our children to have an innocent upbringing? A routine trip through a store like Walmart, for example, can start a child’s brain processing in sexual and

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What Is Destroying Family Bonding?

There is an international parent/child bonding problem. The world has never seen a global lack of parent/child attachment like this before. Of course, there are factors leading to this detachment, factors that the world has also never seen before. Are we experimenting on our families and children and calling it good leadership? Have we given

What Is Destroying Family Bonding? Read More »

YounasAndMarthaEasterGivingToPoorChildren

Christian Families in Pakistan Uniting to Learn Self-Government

Younas and Martha Martin are from a small Christian community in Lahore, Pakistan. While looking for a school to send their daughter to, they researched the top U.S. universities to see which ones had the strongest family values. They ultimately decided upon Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After their daughter married and settled down

Christian Families in Pakistan Uniting to Learn Self-Government Read More »

Stories

10 Ways to Create Stories That Unite Us

My son, Porter, loves to visit a restaurant near our home named “Porter’s Place”. Recently our family was eating there around a big round table and one of the children said, “Dad, tell us that story from your childhood about the fire you shouldn’t have started in the field near your home.” At this point

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A Letter of Hope From a Mother To Her Children

It might seem unusual to share this personal letter publicly, but I felt many mothers and fathers could relate. My two oldest children have recently left from home. The combination of those events, the ongoing negative messaging about motherhood and families, as well as a few positive events (like the upcoming Mom’s March), inspired me

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Lest We Forget: The Vision of Educating Young People

This is the time of year the focus of the world is on education and preparing our children to learn and grow toward success. We enroll the children in classes, schools, programs and activities in hopes they will get an education to prepare them for the future. Is our current educational plan adequate for the

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Bored Family

Loosen Up! It Makes Life Fun!

This comment was made by a blogger. My comments arebelow.

“Our family has serious lack of enjoyment issues. I think we just don’t know how to have fun because we are afraid to spend any money on frivolousness when we have debts to pay, and we have not done anything for so long, we don’t know what to do to just get away and have fun together.”

Family Activities don’t have to cost.

Loosen Up! It Makes Life Fun! Read More »

TalkingCalmly

“Every time you’re silly, somebody always gets hurt.”

I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes, when all of the sudden the happy children noises from the basement changed into cries and yells. I remember distinctly hearing a sad noise or yell from each of my four children. Now, doing the dishes seemed fun compared with sorting out what happened in the basement. I dried my hands and took a deep breath. I wanted to make sure I was calmso that the obviously stressful situation wouldn’t control my emotions. A clear head and calm soul can change hearts and teach minds.

“Every time you’re silly, somebody always gets hurt.” Read More »

freedom

To Find Personal Success, Give Yourself a “No” Answer

Self-government is being able to determine the cause and effect of any given situation and possessing a knowledge of your own behaviors so that you can control them. This means that each person decides what type of person they ought to be and plans for how to become this person. When, as it always does,

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Modern Times Call for Pioneering Parenting

Bethany, a troubled parent, recently shared a shocking story that all too often illustrates what parents nowadays are dealing with: “After we caught our 11-year-old son sending pornographic photos of himself to strangers on Snapchat, we took his phone away. We told him he could have it back in a couple of weeks, but that

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treebark

Freedom For Families: The Tree Bark Approach

Give Me [Tree Bark], Or Give Me Death”: Liberty Yesterday And Today

No speech has ever stirred the American people so much as Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death” speech. No matter if I see a professional orator perform it with eloquence, or a young child reciting that speech, it touches my heart with goodness and purpose.

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mothers

Can Teenagers Conquer the Culture of Disrespect Alone?

For years I’ve heard adults complain about how disrespectful teenagers are with a tone that suggests the teenagers should fix their problem. I found myself wondering if it was really totally the teenagers’ problem, and if it was possible for teenagers to fix the culture of disrespect all alone. After many years of helping families

Can Teenagers Conquer the Culture of Disrespect Alone? Read More »

stressed mother

From Scattered and Over-Scheduled to Stress-Free: Self-Government for Adults

A friend of mine recently shared her journey “from scattered to scheduled” with me. She said, “I’ve struggled for years to try to conquer my inability to live a scheduled life. I saw people with their fancy planners and knew I needed to make a change, so I started a planner too. Now the problem

From Scattered and Over-Scheduled to Stress-Free: Self-Government for Adults Read More »

10 things kids think about

10 Thoughts Children Have That Might Surprise Parents

“He’s not breathing really well, and they tell us he’ll likely die in a day or two…” a mother was explaining to a group of adults about her father-in-law, and her young son’s grandpa. Her son was sitting in an adjacent room with his good friend, but he wasn’t playing as his mother likely thought

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sibling rivalry

6 Steps for Making Siblings Friends, Not Foes

One night, after my parents left to go on a date, my brother and I started fighting. I vividly remember the fight getting to the point where both of us were standing on a couch threatening each other with broomsticks. This sad memory changed me. Many times over the years I’ve had that memory return,

6 Steps for Making Siblings Friends, Not Foes Read More »

truth

Truth Be Told…Influence of Family is Astounding!

Even though there’s violence dotting the globe, the largest battle of our day isn’t physical. It’s a war of words. All these words are supposed to lead the listeners to truth. Often the talk feels cheap even though the claim is each new idea, paradigm and argument is the most valuable. Is this word war

Truth Be Told…Influence of Family is Astounding! Read More »

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Solutions for Today’s Teenage Sexual Problems

The other day I was attending a very heated legislative committee meeting in Utah where changes to the way state school teachers teach about sexual health were proposed. I recognized someof the legislators were not acknowledging the real solution to the problems facing teenagers. Debate and public comments on the proposed changes went on for

Solutions for Today’s Teenage Sexual Problems Read More »

millenials

Have Millennials Been “Dealt a Bad Hand?”

Those born approximately 1982-2004 are often referred to as Millennials. They’ve been teased in countless online videos, articles and casual conversations. They’re often mocked for the way they see themselves, view the world, believe where happiness comes from, and for their position on the purpose of life. The characteristic of their generation that is most

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Resolutions Are All the Same, and That’s the Way it Should Be!

No matter how many different types of resolutions we choose to write down and work on this coming year, all the items on our lists are actually just one resolution. At first glance this statement may seem like an attempt to simplify resolutions to make successfully accomplishing them easier. But understanding that all resolutions point

Resolutions Are All the Same, and That’s the Way it Should Be! Read More »

mother talking to younger children

Stepping Away From What They Believe

It’s hard to see a good family friend or loved one stray from the things you both know and believe. Things inevitably end up changing. The relationships become different and sometimes strained. However, you still want to stay close to them. How is that to be achieved? And, how do you break it to the children without them thinking these good people are not so good?

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Healing Relationships with Family This Holiday Season

Relationships make or break the holidays. For some, holiday family parties are stressful because of unhealthy relationships. They know attending traditional family gatherings and sending Christmas cards to “loved ones” is important. However, that ball of hurt, frustration and disgust creeps into their throat whenever they think about past relationship problems, making attending family events

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child hugging bear

Helping Children Feel Secure in an Emotional and War-Ridden World

In the United States we have a new president. Some people are elated about this and others are sorrowing. Regardless of where each of us is on this spectrum of election emotions, change is in the air. Change is difficult for all of us, but especially for children. Not only are the children of the

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cell phone

Is Giving a Child a Smart Phone Smart? Facts to Consider

The first cellular phone became available to the public in 1984. By 2007 Apple had made the Apple iPhone, which has since taken the cellular phone world by storm. In 23 short years, society went from brick-sized phones to handheld computers. Today, smart phones are everywhere. Even many of the tribal people in Africa now

Is Giving a Child a Smart Phone Smart? Facts to Consider Read More »

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Hope For Homes Everywhere!

Sometimes, no matter how diligently parents try to teach their children and unify their families, they are met with opposition. Sunday Evening 1986 “It’s time for family council,” said Dad, as usual one Sunday evening. “How long is it going to take?” “We hate family council!” “Urgh!” “I’m tired. Can I go to bed?” said

Hope For Homes Everywhere! Read More »

roles 8

13-Year-Old Girl Changes Lives by Changing Her Heart

It’s difficult to know what other people are processing about a situation or experience. Parents often assume they know the thoughts of their children, but sometimes they don’t. Each child is so unique, and their view of a situation is unique to them too. This is a story about a young girl we’ll call Megan.

13-Year-Old Girl Changes Lives by Changing Her Heart Read More »

social preparedness boy

How to Help Your Children Keep Your Standards When They’re Away From Home

Parents painstakingly teach morals, principles, values and good judgment to their growing children in hopes that their virtues will be protected and their standards upheld throughout their lives. Yet, day after day youth are tested in social situations. Sometimes they stumble as they compare their values and morals to the world’s ever-changing social standards and

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Eye to eye

1 Skill To Improve Calmness For The Whole Family

While swimming with my family one day the calmness of our pool experience was interrupted by one very loud, very stressed mother. If only this mother was able to see the hearts of her children and everyone else in the pool area. If she could have taken a moment to do just one simple skill

1 Skill To Improve Calmness For The Whole Family Read More »

Families in roller coaster car

Pre-Teaching For Summer Activities

Do you have some awesome family trips or activities planned for this Summer? It’s going to be the best Summer ever! However, what are you going to do when the children start acting out? TSG on the go is always a little harder than at home. How are you going to keep them calm, happy, and obedient? How will they stay by you when you’re in a crowded place?

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gardening boy

4 Ways to Help Children Enjoy Chores and Become Good Workers

“There is no substitute for hard work.” (Thomas Edison) Years ago, when I was planning a Teaching Self-Government trip to China, a good friend of mine said, “Nicholeen, what are you going to tell parents in China who don’t understand why their child should earn an extra chore? Most parents don’t have their children do

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AngerRoom

A Sign Our Society Needs Self-Government

On a recent plane flight I happened to open the magazine provided for passengers by the airlinein the seat back pocket. In the magazine there was an article titled “Break Room” about these“Anger Rooms” that are starting to pop up around the country.These Anger Rooms are proof of our society’s entitlement mindset. The business is based onthe idea that a person should be allowed to be as aggressive as they want to when they feel anemotion coming on, and not have to follow God’s law of cause and effect.

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TSGKenyaReport

Self-Government Teachers In Kenya Report In This Video

In November 2015 we visited Kenya and taught many religious leaders, teachers, social workers, family advocatesand parents how to teach self-government in Kenya. It was the first time we did a training like this outside of the United States. When we departed, we had a prayer in our hearts that the wonderful Kenyan TSG mentors

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JoyfulLivingImage

Nicholeen Talks About How She Lives Joyfully And MUCH More!

Recently I was invited to be a guest speaker on the Joyful Living Podcast with Quinn Curtis. The presentation was completely new and really spontaneous! I think you will like it. Some of the topics covered are: Entitlement issues in children What joyful living looks like How to balance home life and work or other

Nicholeen Talks About How She Lives Joyfully And MUCH More! Read More »

The Worlds Strictest Parents logo

What We Can Learn From the World’s Strictest Parents

By Dr. Mark Wanstall Yes,The World’s Strictest Parents —from the production companyTwentytwenty, broadcast since 2007 on BBC3 — is another ‘reality TV’ programme. Yes it’s formulaic, possibly even exploitative of all involved; and the morality tale outcomes are nearly always simplistic and predictable. But there is aprofound truththat speaks to us — if we can

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Kenyans Show Gratitude For Self-Government Teachings: Our Report

“You have blessed our lives and our families so much.” “Thank you so much for coming to teach us! You have to come back. Kenya is a big place. We need more teachings like this.” “I have to admit that I never thought anything good ever comes from America. You have proven me wrong. This

Kenyans Show Gratitude For Self-Government Teachings: Our Report Read More »

HappyFamilyHug

How is Teaching Self-Government Changing the World?

Dear Teaching Self-Government Friends, Every year we’ve tried to do a “State of Teaching Self-Government” update for you. So much has been happening that we feel like it’s time for one of those updates — even though it’s not January yet. Ever since people started asking us to talk to them about the self-government principles

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InsideOut

[Support Group Article Gem] Is Disney’s “Inside Out” Really “Outside In?”

I know this article could ruffle a few feathers but I felt like my support group would reallyappreciate it even if they didn’t totally agree.I recently saw the new movie “Inside Out” and couldn’t help but analyze it. My husband alwaysteases me for how much I analyze movies. I actually just analyze everything. That is whatthinking people do. My brain is always searching for more truth or more traps. I guess it’s in myprograming.

[Support Group Article Gem] Is Disney’s “Inside Out” Really “Outside In?” Read More »

FatherSonSnuggle

Building Confidence Through Mercy and Advocacy, Not Abandonment

“So what exactly is self-government,” a woman asked me one day. “It is a principle of freedom that is taught by parents to their children. The parents create an environment that is filled with a loving, calm tone and a firm structure based on skills and cause and effect. This environment helps children take control

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Headstone on Memorial Day

[Support Group Audio Gem] Lessons Learned At The Graveside…

Memorial Day is a very special day, especially in the United States. It is a special day to remember your loved ones that have passed on and to get together with family. It is on this day that I remember all of the stories I’ve learned about my ancestors. I get to tell them to my children and learn more from my family members.

[Support Group Audio Gem] Lessons Learned At The Graveside… Read More »

ChickenAndchild

Children Aren’t Chickens: A Discussion About Free-Range Parenting

While visiting a friend’s house recently, I was asked this very interesting question. “What do you think about parents who let their children run wild and don’t even seem to notice? My neighbor doesn’t even stop her child from climbing my bookcases when they come for a play date. I think they call it ‘free-range’

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madboy

How To Stop Bullying: Boundaries For Bullies!

Question: How do you help children respond appropriately to unkind behavior and bullying, especially at school? Answer Bullying is on the rise in our society. Many factors may contribute to this trend, including the increased usage of violent video games and movies, and the decrease in social refinement instruction. Whatever the root causes, incidents of

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stopsignBoy

Public Shaming — Is It Creative or Just Wrong?

In recent months, there have been many news stories, YouTube videos and social media posts that show parents getting creative with their discipline techniques to get through to their children. Everyone wants to know if these creative measures are healthy or harmful. I would like to talk specificallyabout public shaming and its use as a

Public Shaming — Is It Creative or Just Wrong? Read More »

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