Are you parenting on auto-pilot? As parents, it’s easy to live in survival mode each day, rarely taking the time to think about the state of our parenting. Some days parenting on auto-pilot is all you can do. Life brings tragedy, frustrations, hurts, and difficulties that drain you of your ability to be intentional. Those…
6 Parenting Affirmations to Repeat Daily
These daily parenting affirmations can give you a new mindset in parenting. Are you an accidental parent? Is your parenting strategy to face things as they come and when conflicts or hard times arise, you figure you will just deal with it then? Another way to say it is that you wing it as a…
5 Keys to Raising a Champion
Raising a Champion requires a plan. The journey from infancy to young adult independence is a long and rocky one. Without a “flight plan” it can be frustrating and you may often feel like you are groping in the dark. This is the flight plan that helped my husband and me raise three kids who…
When Do Grandparents Need Boundaries?
Do grandparents need boundaries? I’ve worked with parents who’ve struggled with this very issue and now that I’m a Nana I am thinking about what kind of a mom and grandma I want to be. If you are a parent or even a grandparent, these are some boundaries to consider implementing so that relationships stay…
Why are My Children Not Listening to Me?
Are your children not listening to you? It is frustrating when they do not listen to your requests or questions. At times, it may even feel like they are ignoring you. This does not mean that your child is being rebellious; it may instead suggest that they’ve acquired a case of parent deafness. Parent deafness…
What Voices Hinder Your Child’s Success?
Your child’s success will not depend merely on their skills. Throughout many hears of being a sports mom, coach’s wife and coach’s mom, I’ve seen kids succeed and fail many times based on what was going on in their heads. All the skill in the world cannot stand up to the power of a mindset,…
When Anxiety Takes Over Your Mind
As a young mom,my niece, Sarah, has faced some pretty intense physical struggles and as a result, she has battled anxiety. I asked her to share her story. If someone reading this ever feels like anxiety is taking over their life, I hope that Sarah’s words encourage and help you. I never categorized myself as…
What to Expect as Your Child Enters Middle School
If you have a child entering middle school, let me tell you right now, hang on for the ride! Middle schoolers can be a bundle of hormones and energy that can annoy you, frustrate you, and test your patience daily. Mark Twain agrees. His opinion was that When a child turns 12, he should be…
“Be Present” With Your Children: What Does That Really Mean?
“I really want to be present with my kids,” one mom told me recently and while I applaud her desire, I started thinking about what it actually means to be present. We say that a lot these days and yet have we actually taken the time to figure out what it really means? I like…
Emotional Teens: Handle with Care
If you have emotional teens in your house, then believe me, you are experiencing a phase that just about every parent goes through. It’s been said that a teen’s highs are their highest and their lows are the lowest. The up-and-down emotions that a teen expresses can be exhausting for you as a parent as…