An exasperated mother said to me, “My teenager doesn’t like to work hard. She expects everything in life to be easy. How do I teach her to like work?” “Do you like work?” I asked the mother. “Most people who don’t see value in work, or don’t like work, are taught somewhere along the way …
Two Ways To Guide Youth Toward Purposeful Living Read More »
In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss how to teach someone to drop the subject and what it might look like in different life situations. Do your children tend to hold a grudge when they don’t get their way? Do they have a hard time letting something go? Do you find yourself becoming emotionally invested …
Podcast 103 – Dropping The Subject: Is It Possible? Read More »
In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss the importance of seeking to understand others. Have you ever felt misunderstood and struggled to get your point across? Have you caught yourself spacing out when others were trying to make themselves understood by you? Listen in for some great tips on how to understand others better and …
In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss just how easy it is to teach young children the principles and skills of Self-Government. Do you feel like you’re constantly reminding your little children of the skills you’ve taught them? Does it seem overly repetitive to have to keep teaching the same things over and over? Listen …
Podcast 72 – Can Little Children Learn Self-Government? Read More »
In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss what it really means to be self-governed. Do you ever wonder why it’s so hard to be self-governed sometimes? Why do we struggle with consistency and patience? More and more, there is a key element of self-government that is lacking in today’s families and individuals that makes such …
“I don’t have the time to catch every little thing the kids do. I run a business, I have a large family, and I homeschool. Isn’t there an easier way to stop the bad behaviors than having to correct every one of them? I think I need the condensed, quicker approach to parenting,” said Gwen, …
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
In his book, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” Norman Vincent Peale shares a story of a pastor talking to a painter about worrying. “Howard, don’t you ever worry?” the pastor asked the painter. The painter laughed and said, “No, not on your life. I don’t believe in it.” The painter goes on to tell how …
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.
Family travel looks different these days than it used to. Today’s parents were raised in a slower time. Most families planned one or two trips a year, which were usually taken during school holidays, and in our case, in the family travel trailer. While there are still families that really don’t like to leave home …
Years ago I was participating in a sewing activity at my church. Many women had gathered at the church with their sewing machines. At this activity, there was a four-year-old girl that kept touching the knobs on the sewing machines. Her mother tried to keep her in control and punished her by putting her into time-out when she touched the machines. She didn’t stop trying to touch the machines —even though this girl was punished each time .
“Nicholeen, is it possible for me to care too much about my child? I feel really bad when they make a wrong choice and seem to have a tendency to want to protect them from making any mistake. Is this okay?
This mother’s son has a hard time following instructions if there isn’t a pre-teach before every instruction. Does she have to pre-teach beforeeveryinstruction?
Nicholeen, I have a 9-year old boy. He is a typical 9-year old boy, I believe, in that his mind (and mouth) is constantly going 200 miles an hour. His siblings are always waiting for him to stop talking so they can get a word in edgewise. He is full of ideas and loves to take things apart. We are having a problem with bedtime. He goes to bed just fine, but once there, he won’t go to sleep. We let him read for about 15-30 minutes once he’s in bed, then we come down and turn the lights out (for him and his younger brother who is 4).
I thought this comment was worth sharing on the front page. ~Nicholeen
I just wanted to share a neat little conversation with 10yod tonight while we were cleaning the dinner dishes. She said, “You know that when you ask 4yod and 6yos to like, go make their bed. They whine and don’t want to do it, but if you say, ‘William, I’m going to give you an instruction. Please go make your bed.’ Than they say ‘OK’ and go do it right away.!” I praised her tons for making and sharing this observation and we talked about how interesting that was. I think the difference is that we practice