by Cecilia Hilkey | communication, conflict, parenting
Do you have a child who gets frustrated and resorts to name-calling? Maybe you’ve tried everything… telling them “we don’t use those words”, talking about how “those words hurt people's feelings”, practicing calming techniques, ignoring it, taking them for a break,...read more
by Cecilia Hilkey | conflict, parenting, teens
Our kids turned into “typical teens” sooner than I had expected. I first started noticing a shift when they were 10 or 11 years old. All of a sudden, there were eye rolls and “duh” and “You don’t get it, Mom”. Even though we had a great relationship with our kids and...read more
by Cecilia Hilkey | conflict, parenting, siblings
A mom reached out to us about her 13-year-old son… “He seems to be doing okay in school and has friends… but his primary interest is in screens, especially gaming and TikTok/YouTube watching. We’re okay with him using screens as a means to socialize and play together...read more
by Cecilia Hilkey | conflict, parenting, siblings
Recently a parent told us… My son is always belittling my daughter, shouting at her and dismissing everything she says. Whenever I try to give him advice on how he should behave or protect her, it escalates things, and he always complains that it's because “she has...read more
by Cecilia Hilkey | conflict, parenting, siblings
We received a question from a family whose son and daughter have gotten along well for years… but now they don’t. The daughter (12 years old) wants to hang out with her friends and is being “mean” to her brother, and the son (9 years old) is responding by being...read more
by Cecilia Hilkey | conflict, parenting, tools
We’ve been exploring what to do with challenging behavior on the blog during the past few weeks. One mom wrote something to us that touched my heart–because I so clearly remember those days of caring for two little ones at the same time. This is what she said… I...read more