It was Monday night, I was sick, and my husband had been out of town for the long weekend. He arrived home in the evening, intending to stay just long enough to print out tickets for a Warriors game (one his few indulgences, which I am happy he takes) and then go. Our 7 year-old, M, was not happy … Read More
Three Parenting Beliefs that Kill Your Child’s Creativity, Joy, and Potential (and How to Turn Them Around)
We all carry beliefs that shape our parenting behavior. Many of these beliefs were formed in early childhood and are deeply lodged into our brains. Some of these beliefs are helpful in our quest to raise kind, compassionate, resilient and responsible children. Some of these beliefs are not. These are killer beliefs because they kill creativity, potential, joy, and relationship. … Read More
Your Child May Have The Best Solution For Unwanted Behavior
This story about giving up some parenting responsibility comes from Louann, who recently took my 8-week Parenting with Positive Discipline virtual class . . . My then 3-year old son and I were at our favorite family camp one summer. My son loved to play in the woods – grabbing handfuls of red earth, and throwing them up in the … Read More
6 Things Great Parents Do . . . at least sometimes
Let me start out by saying that if you do all of these things regularly, I bow down to you. In my view, these are 6 things that great parents do at least sometimes. Because doing them all, all the time, is a pretty tall order. It is for me, anyway. So here they are, 6 things great parents do … Read More
Struggling to come up with “the right” consequences? Try this!
Click here for an audio version of this blog: Over the past several months, I have heard some questionable tips from parenting experts on the topic of “consequences.” What’s surprising to me is that these are parenting experts I respect and agree with most of the time. But not this time. Here’s an example of one tip that raised my eyebrows: “The … Read More