In life, there is really no end to the unknowns. We cannot see into the future, we cannot predict how our kids will turn out and we cannot foresee the problems that lay in wait for us. As children grow up, it seems that every day parents are encountering something new to figure out. Then…
Why Good Parenting is Not Always the Best
Good parenting is praised, admired, emulated, and sought after. But good parenting is not always the best. When we are good at parenting, we tend to settle into status quo, and in doing so, we miss out on what is best. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Good is the enemy of great.” Here’s the full…
Why Are Parents Afraid?
The list of things for parents to be afraid of is very, very long. And the older our kids get, the longer the list gets. Research shows that parents fear: That they are not good enough or doing a good job. That their kids are not going to make it to or through college or…
How to do Thanksgiving Walks with Your Kids
What’s a Thanksgiving Walk and how can it help your relationship with your kids? To answer that question, I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine who does Thanksgiving walks almost every school morning with his three boys. Meet Phil Cooper, and his boys Tyson, 13, Paxton, 11, and Gavin,9. Since July 2019,…
Three Enemies of Great Parenting
Great parenting–is it even possible these days? Sometimes it feels like the odds are stacked against parents. Kids are hard! And trying to raise decent human beings in a world where there is so much negativity, so much evil, so many reasons to fear for their safety, and so much pressure on moms and dads…
How Parents Get Lost in Their Kids’ Lives
As parents, do you ever feel as if your life is not your own? No one fully prepared me for the fact that becoming a parent would be so all-consuming. I was the youngest of six children; I didn’t have any little brothers or sisters to take care of and so when my husband and…
5 Ways We Make Parenting Harder Than it Has to Be
Perhaps this is an oversimplification about parenting, but I believe the following statement is true: If parents parented with the bigger picture in mind, many of our problems would not be so big. Each day you find that it’s easy to get caught up in just getting through today, and parenting for tomorrow seems like…
CHOOSE Patience With Your Kids: 3 Steps to Help You
Do you know how to choose patience? Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, difficulty, or annoyance without getting angry or upset.” I don’t know any parent whose life is free of delays, difficulties or annoyances. In fact, I’m pretty sure most moms and dads experience them on a regulary, probably daily, basis. Your child…
How You Can Avoid Failure to Launch for Your Kids
Remember the movie Failure to Launch, starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker? The 2006 film is a story about a 35-year-old man living with his parents who shows no interest in leaving the comfortable life that they have made for him. Although it’s a romantic comedy, there is truth to this fictional story. Failure to…
4 Immunities Parents Need to Build Up
Immunities: The ability to resist infections or toxins. There’s a lot of talk these days about the importance of having a good immune system and how to build up one’s immunities so that they can resist illness. Our family has strived, through vitamins, good food, natural supplements, and exercise. to make our immune systems as…