What is your parenting strategy? Are you proactive or reactive? One makes life a huge gamble and leaves you scrambling; the other helps you be better prepared to handle the curve balls that life inevitably throws at you. The epidemic of living reactively has infected parenting and as a result has made the job of…
4 Parenting Mistakes that Nearly Tripped Me Up–and Might Make You Stumble Too
It’s way too easy for overloaded and overwhelmed parents to make parenting mistakes with their kids and even miss out on some amazing experiences, and it has nothing to do with how busy you are. It has more to do with how present you are. As I think back over nearly 32 years of parenting,…
Survey Says—These are the Biggest Parenting Struggles
Every parent struggles with something. That’s a no-brainer. Here are some top answers from parents who were asked what their top struggles are: Time. Not Enough of it. Unsure of how to manage it. Struggle with how to divide it with multiple kids. Keeping kids motivated in school and/or sports. The frustrating part of this dilemma is that you simply cannot just make your kids get motivated. You can threaten, bribe, lecture–but the motivation cannot be applied externally like a topical lotion. Knowing when to…
Don’t Raise Finger-Pointers
One of the biggest troubles that we have as humans is believing that our hardest problems in life exist outside of us, not inside of us. It’s much easier to be finger-pointers than problem-solvers. As you’ve probably noticed, your kids are very skilled at explaining away their mistakes or misbehavior by pointing to the situations,…
3 Simple Steps to Helping Your Child Handle Their Anger
As a child, my parents frowned on my anger and I often felt that I had to NOT get angry in order to not get in trouble. As awesome as my parents were, this was one parenting tactic that I do not feel served me well. As a child, I had to hide my anger…
Entitlement: You Can Stop the Spread of This Infection
Can you agree with me that there’s a problem with entitlement in our society? It’s like an infection in our culture that is spreading everywhere. The dictionary states it as the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. Think about that. Entitlement is seen in a person who believes they deserve…
4 Leadership Models: for Parents, Coaches, and Other Leaders
True leadership is a tricky balance of supporting and challenging — whether you are a parent, coach, teacher, or leader on the job. It’s a hard balance to maintain. You want to push kids and challenge them to do their best AND you should encourage them so that they will keep trying. Unfortunately, parents, coaches…
Are Parenting Challenges Getting You Down? If So, my question is: If Not Now, When?
Everyone needs someone to cheer them on, encourage them, and challenge them to grow… including parents. Parenting is the hardest job on the planet. Unfortunately, in our culture, parents often feel alone as they navigate the challenges of a growing kid and an ever-changing culture. Have you ever felt desperate in your parenting? Like nothing…
What’s Your Parenting Style: Sherpa, Snowplow or Drone?
Are you a sherpa, snowplow or drone parent? I recently read an article, spurred by the recent college admission scandals, that examined these parenting styles. If you haven’t heard about them, catch up here. The helicopter parent describes “a parent who hovers over a child in a way that runs counter to the parent’s responsibility…
4 Ways to Avoid Accidental Parenting
Accidents are what happen when people drive cars, ski down the slopes and cut up vegetables with sharp knives. But accidents do not have to characterize the way you parent. Accidental parenting means you fly by the seat of your pants, winging it day after day, month after month, and year after year. Accidental parenting…