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They Can Smell It: Parenting Videos

Have you ever heard that old phrase about how dogs can “smell fear?” Well, dogs aren’t the only ones who can smell fear; children can too. Children know the moment they have you. They know when mom is out of ideas and dad is ready to explode. They know.



All people are born with this kind of sense about other people, so it is natural for children to consider it as valuable as seeing or tasting.

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MomAndBoys

Can Too Much Friend Time Hurt Children?

“Nicholeen, can my child have too much friend time? I have noticed that he begs for it all the time, but doesn’t really want to play with his brothers and sisters that much. What should I do?”



As many of you know, in my Audio seminar and book, Parenting A House United, I talk about how children usually tell you exactly what they don’t need by asking for it all the time.



Just like if my child keeps begging me for junk food, I know he needs health

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teenONcomputer

Keeping Teens Safe: The Internet Threat

“Mrs. Peck, I am afraid I can’t believe in God.”

“What do you mean? How do you know?”

“I just don’t do things I should do and I do some things girls my age shouldn’t do…”

“What are you doing that you shouldn’t do?” I asked

“I just…spend my free time with two guys I don’t know…we just use facebook.

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boyTantrum

Yes Or No? ~Parent Choices

Is it easier to tell children yes or no when they ask a question?

The answer to this question could depend on what kind of person you are.

Are the kind of parent who really likes to be in control of the goings on in the family and don’t like to be bothered with plans changing, outfits changing, or extra work for a new idea? If you are this kind of person you probably find it is easier to tell the children no when they ask to go play at a friends, finger paint, make cookies, or go swimming.

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family laughing

Way To Be: Optimism

“How do you maintain optimism in a depressing world? How do you teach your children to do the same?”

A Not-So-Pretend Story

[Another day of oatmeal for breakfast. I know it’s healthy, but some variety in our diet would be nice. When will the bills stop coming in? Medical bills, living expenses, debts we can’t pay. Don’t think about the money.

“Mom, can we go to the children’s museum? Mom, will you buy me a treat?”

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family playing outside

Family Night Ideas: Our Top Ten Affordable Activities

10 Favorites for Family Night

Family activity nights are big deals at our house! Not that we spend a lot of money or anything, but we do keep them a big priority. We know that having regular family activities keeps our family relationships fresh. The night gives us something to talk about and look forward to.

Here are is a list of our top ten activities which don’t really cost anything:

1- “Knock Your Socks Off”

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video game boy

Video Games Addiction: They Are Asking for Help

“How do you parent a child who is red/yellow when you are a white/blue? My son and I are so entirely different and he’s so impulsive (almost destructive) that it completely shakes my world. I often find him sneaking downstairs and turning on the Wii (which we only permit on Friday and Saturday as a privilege).

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Teenage Attitude Problems

This last week my twelve year old daughter had an attitude problem a number of times in one day. This is very unusual for her and definitely had me analyzing her and the day. She earned negative consequences many times and we had talks about the situations and practiced how she could have handled them better. I really focused on seeking to understand. At one point, after she was calmed down I initiated a conversation to discuss her possible need for more sleep. During this conversation she said, “I just feel like no one really understands. I bet you hav

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Straight Talk About Sex: Children And Sex

I am pretty sure that just putting the word sex in the title of a blog post will make my blog not show up on a lot of your computers.  If so, that is good.  That means you have a good filter and are trying to keep the children protected from the conspirators in our world who want to enslave us all by destroying all the virtuous thoughts we normally have regarding the opposite gender and the act of marriage. 

Recently I was asked:

Dear Nicholeen,
     I am so impressed by the beautiful work you do as a mother and as an incredible example to families all over the world.  Thank you for the work you do!  I know you’re probably crazy busy, but I would really love to learn more about how you present sex education to your children.  I just read a crazy disturbing article about what’s being taught in schools, and I want to be sure our children are taught about abstinence and the spiritual significance of the sex ordinance within marriage and the sacred nature of heterosexuality and well as the scientific aspects.  It’s wild what teachers think is appropriate to teach Kindergartners and I’m doing research to make sure we’re hitting the right mark.  If you could share your thoughts or send me to a link where you may have already addressed this, that would be awesome.  Thanks to you and your sweet family!

You ask a great question.  The topic of sexuality is a must for parents living in these times.  My views are

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Real Control! -Help For Parents

So many people ask me how to control their out of control children… A man I really admire named Jeffrey Holland said, “…the only real control in life is self control.” I couldn’t agree more. You can control the settings on your computer, and control the television choices that come into your home. You can control all the things on your Family Standard and you can control what your family eats for dinner, but you can’t control another person. No matter how hard you try and how much power you try to look like you have, the only person you can control is yourself. Since that is the case, we should capitalize on that power we have to control ourselves, or govern ourselves. If we

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Too Much Play Time?-Solving the Boredom Problem

My two youngest children are best friends, and play a lot with each other.  It is so fun to see them enjoy each other.  This summer we have noticed that they are getting a bit too much play lately though. The sun comes up and someone is at our door asking to play.  The children do their chores and run outside.  They would stay there day after day, all day, if I didn’t ever call them in. 

The other day my husband and I noticed some very distracted behaviors.  My six year old was showing off a lot and acting a lot more “crazy” than usual.  He was also trying to be the “funny guy” by popping off. We looked at each other and both knew something needed to change

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Family TV Watching: Parenting Tip

watching-television1“I came across your ideas on the LDSEHE website, and have been so inspired by all of it.  I’m starting to read your book, hoping to fill in a few holes.  I really like your idea for Friday family movie nights as your one source of TV.  How do you make selections for that night?  Do you have a list of movies you would recommend?”

You are right.  We have a family TV watching policy to help our family not get bound by television.  Our policy is that we don’t watch TV unless it is a movie on Friday family movie night.

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Brave Parenting: Being Too Soft

Can parents actually be too soft?  Isn’t love and affection always the answer?  If a parent isn’t being soft aren’t they being angry?  I often have parents ask me about children who are really emotional.  They say things like, “…she is really sensitive.”  or “…he has a tender heart.”  I know there are different personalities

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