Do parental fears take up way too much space in your head? Before I had my first child over 33 years ago, I had no idea there were so many things to be afraid of in life. Parenting opened up a whole new world of things that could go wrong, things that gave me a…
13 Foods That Feed Your Child’s Brain
With all that’s going on this year, perhaps feeding your child’s brain has not been a top priority. But now that a challenging school year has started, parents most likely need all the help they can get. No matter what your family’s school looks like this year–home school, virtual school, or in-face school–I’m sure parents…
Parents Put Their Identity on the Shoulders of Their Kids in These 4 Ways
Are you unintentionally putting a heavy burden on your children? It is very normal for parents to try to get their identity from their children and also a very hard thing to fight. In fact, most parents fall into this trap one way or another at some point. It is a crushing burden for your…
5 Tips for Spinning the Homeschool, Work, and Parenting Plates
As if parenting and working were not chaotic enough, now many parents will add “homeschool” to their to-do list as they face the new challenge of facilitating their child’s distance learning. Let’s be honest, this will not be easy. But it is do-able. Just remember that this a journey and working out your personal glitches…
7 Signs That Your Family May Not Be Spending Enough Time Together
Family is important. I’m sure that most parents agree with that statement, and I’m also sure that most parents really want to make time for their families to bond and have fun together. Stop for a minute and ask yourself: How is our family doing in making time to do things together? If you’re wondering…
5 Uncomfortable Truths That Parents Need to Accept About Their Teens
It has been said that when you raise teens, it’s important to have a dog in the house so that someone is glad to see you! There’s no doubt that teens can be quite a challenge to have around. For many parents, raising teens is the hardest season of parenting. It’s uncomfortable, messy, chaotic, and…
10 Life Skills That May Be Hard for Your Kids to Learn, But they Will Be Glad They Did!
Are your kids learning life skills that will take them far into the future when you are not around to guide their every step? As I look back on the way we parented our kids, I have to be honest and say that we didn’t do the best job of teaching them some very handy…
The Antidote for Parent Shaming
It’s been a tough year so far in 2020–COVID, racial tension, financial stress, political polarization–and all of the challenges have put huge pressures on parents. Now, add to that the burden of parent shaming. I listen to a lot of parents and I’m part of several moms groups on facebook. My motive in doing so…
How to Love Your Kids Even on the Days You Don’t Like Them Very Much
How well do you love your kids in good and bad times? We all love our children. Of course we do. We sacrifice for them, putting aside our own needs and desires to care for them. We’d lay down our lives for our kids. Parental love is one of the strongest forces on earth. But…
Your Marriage Vs. Your Kids: Who Wins?
Who is winning the emotional tug of war in your home? Your marriage or your children? It is way too easy for the kids to win as you go through 18 years of having them underfoot. It’s unintentional, of course, because none of us starts out parenting with the purpose of putting our marriage on…