In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss the intricacies of the touchy subject of anxiety. Everyone experiences anxiety. It’s a fact. However, the way that it’s managed and dealt with heavily determines how well the person experiencing it thrives or survives. Do you need a better grip on your anxiety? Do you need more skills […]
Podcast 67 – Anxiety: Surviving AND Thriving Read More »
In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss how self-government applies to young children. Can babies and toddlers learn to govern themselves? Yes! Listen in for some great tips and skills for applying Teaching Self-Government with your little ones! https://tsg-podcasts.s3.amazonaws.com/2020/December/TSGPodcast42-BabiesNeedSelfGovernmentToo-Dec5-2020.mp3
Podcast 42 – Babies Need Self-Government Too! Read More »
In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss how self-government can apply to heated political situations. No matter your political stance, there’s bound to be someone who disagrees with you. When conversation gets heated, what goes on inside someone’s head? What are you going to do? Can self-government skills help keep things calm, even with differing
Podcast 37 – Drama, Games, and Surviving The Election Read More »
Many parents of teen- or pre-teen-aged youth are confused about whether teenage rebellion is an attitude problem or whether the child is displaying healthy independence. When attitude problems seem like rebellion, parents wonder if rebellion is natural or simply a modern social construct that societies now think is developmentally normal. Rebellion is as old as
Healthy Independence vs. Rebellion Read More »
I once received a note from a reader about her 14-year-old son who was quite the thinker. He always wanted to know “Why?” about everything, which is wonderful, but it was leading to problems respecting authority.
The Children Want to Know Why… Read More »
Several years ago, my family had a tradition of occasionally deciding we were on vacation for a week. That meant we took a break from our regular routine. We did it a few times a year to focus on getting all of the yard and garden work done. One day that we spent doing lots of yard work is particularly memorable, not because of what we accomplished in the garden, but because of what happened with my children.
Sometimes They Figure It Out Themselves Read More »
“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).
Always Stay Consistent with Consequences Earned Read More »
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 »
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,
To Find Personal Success, Give Yourself a “No” Answer Read More »
Years ago I read an article about a woman who thought her children needed to emotionally throw up from time to time in order to stay emotionally healthy. She wasn’t talking about real vomit from the stomach. She was talking about crying and screaming and emoting until the child ‘got it all out.’ Do you think emotional vomit is healthy?
Is Emotional Throw Up Healthy? Read More »
There are sometimes when an argument is a natural consequence of a bad behavior. Do I stand back and let them or continue to be a referee between them?
Should They Fight it Out? Read More »
Even after we teach our children how to follow an instruction or how to accept a NO answer, our children will sometimes forget that they can choose to say, “OK”. The other day I told my son that he needed to clean his room. I could tell that he didn’t want to do the task. His face started to pout. The second I saw this, I said, “Porter, say OK.” He looked right at me and said, “OK!” Then I praised him. It is alright to tell them exactly what to say. This helps them problem solve the very situation they are in. The child then gets the opportunity to see how easy it is to make the rig
Tell Them What to Say Read More »