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.
Bring Balance to Parenting: Connect with Your Kids and Reclaim the Joy Again
When people ask me, “How do you do it all?” I feel proud and a little smug, but I probably shouldn’t… Let’s be clear. All the rushing, being on our screens, and productivity have a dark side especially if you are a parent… Rushing all the time means that we are...
Parents: How to Calm Down (In the Moment)
One time when our kids were younger they got into a fight about something, I was so maxed out that I locked myself in the bathroom to take a few breaths. I had to escape because I didn’t have a reliable plan for how to soothe myself in high-stress moments. When you’re...
How to be happy, regardless of your child’s behavior
Real quick. I’ve been realizing that it’s a trap to think, “I’ll be happy when my child does X” or “I’ll stop worrying if my child stops doing Y” or “I’ll feel accomplished as a parent when my child accomplishes Z”. Yet, we have these kinds of thoughts about our kids...
Why Play is Important to Adult Humans
This morning I watched a little bird from my bedroom window. The bird was all by itself, sitting in the hundred-year-old oak tree in our backyard. As I watched it, it taught me something really important about being a parent–and being a human–that is backed by...
Parents! Flooded with Feelings? Do this!
Have you ever lost it with your child, but then afterward thought, “Wow, where did THAT come from?” This has certainly happened to me… I’m trucking along in my day and then (wham!) something happens with a family member and a sleeping dragon gets woken up from inside...
When parenting is overwhelming
I’m having one of those days.You’ve probably had them too…When you have too much to do, and too little time to do it. It started with a fitful night of sleepA morning argument with a family member that I blamed myself forThings took longer than anticipatedAnd are not...
When a child misbehaves, is it the parent’s fault?
When my child struggles, misbehaves or acts out, I can sometimes get into the trap of blaming myself. I’m guessing that you can relate to this too. I know I’m not alone in this because in my work with parents, self-judgment and blame are a pretty common pattern....
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…...