The Blog
Our best advice when it’s tough with kids:breathe, laugh, dance, sing, hug, call a friend. Be gentle with yourself, you’re not done growing up yet. This won’t last and you are not alone.
Limit setting when there isn’t a choice
A mom asked us, as a gentle, nonviolent parent, if using force is ever justified. For example, is it okay to physically restrain a child to get a necessary medical procedure done? Here’s what she wrote… “Our 8-year-old understands she needs a medical procedure. We...
How to set a limit in parenting
Have you ever found yourself in a parenting situation where your child just HAS to do something and there really is no other option? Like maybe for health reasons, your child needs to get an uncomfortable medical procedure done, or take a medication, or get a shot…...
Are you overhelping your child?
How do you know if you are overhelping your toddler or teen? It can be difficult as a parent to watch our kids struggle… whether it’s stacking wood blocks or getting to school in the morning. Let me tell you a story… Last spring one of our teens was having difficulty...
When your child touches something you said not to…
Have you ever told your child not to touch the [plants, vase, dog, fragile thing, public toilet] but they go and touch it anyway? And–to make you feel even more exasperated–all the while, they have a mischievous smile on their face?! It’s so frustrating! But this...
How to get kids to clean up
We’ve been exploring what to do with challenging behavior on the blog during the past few weeks. A mom wrote to us asking for ideas to help her daughter clean up her toys. This is what she said… “My 10-yo daughter avoids cleaning up her toys. There are usually a lot...
How to soothe two little kids at the same time
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...
Part 2 – How to handle your child’s misbehavior
In an earlier post, we shared 5 reflection questions to use when your child has challenging behavior. A parent answered these questions with her 15-year-old daughter in mind. What is your child doing? Teen (15) staying up all night and sleeping all day. Says I'm...
How to handle your child’s misbehavior
When our first child was born, I went to visit a friend who is a mom of 11 kids. My friend gazed down at our cute little redheaded baby and said something about how nice that age is, before your kids can do things you don’t want them to do. At the time, I naively...
How to Cure Parental Burnout – Part 2
In Part 1 we began a conversation about parental burnout and we’ve got more help coming to you this week. But… Instead of giving you tips or things to do, I wanted to share more personally what I’ve learned about myself and my own burnout during the last couple of...