To me, a hero is the person who liberates us from our ignorance or rescues us from bondage by teaching us the truths we need. There was a time in my life when I didn’t see my mother as my hero. When I was a child, she seemed weak and emotionally fragile. Although I know […]
My Mother, My Hero Read More »
Sometimes wonderful moments of instruction are missed because parents are afraid that the teaching moment might cross the line into judging. “That boy obviously has a lack of character. When someone does something inappropriate right after the adult told him not to do it, he obviously has a lack of respect for his elders and
Judging or Instructing? Great Parents Do This! Read More »
Generally, most parents want their children to have good social skills. They want them to be well liked and to be kind, respectful communicators. Unfortunately, some of these very well-meaning parents might actually be destroying the child’s ability to become this kind, respectful and socially mature person, and they don’t even know they are doing it.
How Parents Sabotage Their Children Socially Read More »
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” (Cynthia Ozick) When I was nine years old I had a terrible bicycle accident and broke my back in five places and fractured my skull. It is a miracle that I have been able to live a relatively normal life. However, through
Confessions of Ingratitude Read More »
I have a few poems that are my all time favorites. This is one of them. It reminds me that to have courage when I need it most I must already have it within me. I must nurture my courage each day as I step out of my comfort zone and do hard thing after hard thing.
Families all over the world recently gathered around their computers to see how to have a great family night. This video is fun for all ages. Could the “cure for the common cold-hearted world” be as simple as having weekly family night activities and laughing and loving as a family? For many years family experts
No More Boring Family Nights! Video of Awesome And Easy Family Night Activities Read More »
When I was a little girl my mother told me about her youth. She explained that parents didn’t talk with kids about certain subjects. Parents stayed away from subjects like money and sex as a general rule until a child reached older ages. But, parents did talk about behaviors. They saw when a child did
How To Talk About Anything With Your Kids! Read More »
In 2010 I was asked to go to China to help parents and children become more united. While there, one question kept coming up, no matter whether I was speaking on the radio, or speaking to parent or school groups. “How do I help my children succeed in school?” Studying education has been a passion
Helping Children Succeed In School Read More »
Waiting for a movie ticket can be an interesting experience. In a movie line, somewhere in the world, a mother and her son were waiting in line to see a family friendly movie when the son saw some of his friends in line for a movie ticket as well. Upon asking, the young boy of
What Children Want! Shocking Stories! Read More »
Father’s are essential to the upbringing of emotionally healthy children. The absence of a father in the home can be damaging to a child’s self-esteem, stress load, anxiety, sense of well-being, and familial as well as social relationships. As a previous foster parent, I noticed that 80% of the children who came to my home
Father’s Day Every Day Read More »
Life is hard these days. There are many stresses and concerns around us. Help your family be a haven away from the confusion and frustration of the world by deliberately improving your communication.
How To Prepare For Difficult Parenting Situations Read More »
No matter the age of children, no matter the family, some moments just feel like or look like chaos. Dirty dishes everywhere, nagging, siblings fighting, people not getting in the car quick enough, whining, laundry piled up all over, toys underfoot, music blaring…where is the calm? This story is regular life for many families. It
Parenting Tools For Conquering Crisis Situations Read More »
One thing that fails first on low energy days is parenting consistency. Parents start not seeing or correcting mistakes because they are distracted by their low energy.
I got the chance to interview Spencer about his experiences with patience and I got to ask him what advice he had for dads who are struggling to maintain their patience.
You won’t find the word “reactionship” in any dictionary, because I just made it up a short time ago. This is how it happened. While visiting a family with the purpose to help them see the best way to learn self-government I noticed that the way the parents were handling emotional outbursts from their teens
What is a reactionship? Read More »
I thought you would like to see this. This is an email I just got from a family near Nottingham, England that came to the Teaching Self-Government event we did there. It was one of our smaller events, but still obviously worth it. Read below. Thank you all for your participation in helping this family.
From A Family In England! Read More »
During my young years I developed some deplorable communication habits. Frequently I interrupted people, said wrong things to the wrong people, spoke too often, and had emotional speech. Even though I was good at presenting myself with proper posture and other manners, I was often lacking dignity of speech which led my friends and family
How You Say It Really Matters! – Effective Elocution Read More »
While standing in line for a bus one day I heard a woman say to a friend, "If any one in my family has a hard time staying calm it is me, and my children know it. But, we have a vocabulary that has changed everything so that I can stay calm more often now."
How Children Disagreeing Appropriately Taught One Mom Self-Government 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
Falling In Love With Your Children Again And Again! Read More »
When I was a teenager I dreamed of what kind of parent I would be. I just new I would be one of those cool moms who had great relationships with her children and always did fun stuff. My husband also had similar visions of coolness. I remember that when we got married he declared.
How To Become A Cool Mom Or Cool Dad For Today’s Children Read More »