Surviving School Closures in the wake of COVID-19

MarcilieLetting Go, Parenting and Management, Screen time1 Comment

Coronavirus’ exponential spread is affecting everyone. The business world seemed to understand the implications first by announcing work-from-home mandates. Schools across the country are now following suit, leaving working parents in quite a pickle. We are being asked to be a professional, parent, and teacher all at once and all at home. That’s a pretty tall order; especially with young children … Read More

Child melting down? Try this

Marciliediscipline, Kind and Firm Parenting, Parenting Toddlers, Positive ParentingLeave a Comment

The story featured below is from Ranjana, mother of two children. She had recently attended a Positive Discipline class where the topic was setting limits. In class, we spent a lot of time talking about how hard it is to allow and accept our children’s big emotions, especially when they are screaming, tantruming, or crying incessantly.   It’s uncomfortable (for everyone) … Read More

Why it’s Important to Create a Healthy Bond with Children as Early as Possible

MarcilieParenting Styles, Parenting Toddlers, Positive ParentingLeave a Comment

healthy bond

From taking your child to their first day of school, to someday walking them down the aisle, some of life’s biggest milestones are between you and your child. But way before you reach any significant milestones, it’s important to strengthen your bond with your child as early as possible. As a parent, you are your child’s first connection to other … Read More

Top 6 Positive Discipline Tools for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Beth DargisCooperation, discipline, Parenting Preschoolers, Parenting Toddlers, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Positive ParentingLeave a Comment

positive discipline for preschoolers

I’ve been through it three times and the thought of doing it again feels absolutely exhausting: parenting toddlers and preschoolers. It’s true that the teen years present some emotionally exhausting issues (and I mean seriously exhausting), but those early years wore me out in all dimensions: physical, emotional, and cognitive. Why were my car keys in the refrigerator? Because I … Read More

3 Easy Ways to Encourage (i.e., foster COURAGE to keep trying, do something new, take on a challenge)

Marciliediscipline, Encouragement, Responsibility, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

The best gift you can give your children this holiday season is . . . Encouragement. You can’t wrap it up, and they won’t be asking for it. But they need it more than anything, and it doesn’t cost a dime. “A child needs encouragement like a plant needs water.”   – Rudolf Dreikurs Think of someone in your life who was … Read More

How Positive Discipline (and a chore chart) followed my son to college

MarcilieChores, discipline, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Positive Parenting, Problem SolvingLeave a Comment

I visited my son at college last weekend. A sophomore in off-campus housing, he’d been complaining about the standards of cleanliness among his roommates (in his view, the standards are quite low.) For the first time in my son’s life, there is no one other than the 4 guys who live there to clean up the messes, dishes, or bathrooms. … Read More

Don’t take sides when siblings fight!

Marciliediscipline, Kind and Firm Parenting, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Sibling Fighting, Sibling Rivalry4 Comments

I’ve heard it said that when siblings fight, the parent or caregiver should first attend to the victim by giving comfort and attention. This way, bullies aren’t rewarded with attention, and theoretically, they learn to never to repeat the behavior because they actually see the pain they’ve caused. This seems logical enough…but in the long term, deciding who’s right and … Read More

How parenting with a long-term view can transform behavior

Marcilieconsequences, discipline, Kind and Firm Parenting, Leadership, Letting Go, long term parenting, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Positive Parenting, ResponsibilityLeave a Comment

While parenting with a long-term view (“long-term parenting”) can completely transform a situation and a relationship, I’ve struggled for years (literally) with how to write about it. I think it might sound a bit boring, and imply that one might not get immediate answers with its practice. Am I right? I imagine readers asking, How will long-term parenting help me … Read More

Back To School Conversation Guide

MarcilieBack to School, Responsibility4 Comments

Every Fall, about a week or two before my kids start school again, we have a “back to school conversation.”  When my children were younger (up to around 4th or 5th grade), parents set bedtimes and wake times and then together with our kids, we brainstormed morning and bedtime routines and created routine charts to stay on track. Learn more … Read More

How much screen time is too much?

MarcilieKind and Firm Parenting, Problem Solving, Responsibility, Screen time, Screen time, Setting LimitsLeave a Comment

Everyone seems to know intuitively that too much screen time is not healthy, but no one seems to be able to say how much is too much. Experts (including Dr. Rachel Kowert, PhD and author of A Parent’s Guide to Video Games) note that even the “no more than 2 hours/day” recommendation for young children from the American Academy of … Read More

My child stole his teacher’s brownie. How and what came next…

Marcilieconsequences, discipline, Kind and Firm Parenting, long term parenting, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Positive Parenting, Problem Solving, Responsibility4 Comments

Chapter 1: Mom Gets Dreaded Phone Call From School I was at work in the middle of the day when my phone began to ring. I looked down and noted the caller’s ID: it was my child’s school. Naturally, my heart began to race, butterflies fluttered in my gut, and my eyes got a bit wider. Do schools know that … Read More