When your kid does something you are happy about, what do you say to him or her? Do you say, “Good girl!!! Good boy!!!”? Do you say, “Good following directions!” or “You are such a good listener!”? I know for me, some of those responses can be automatic. Why do we say these things to […]
positive discipline
One Way I (Effectively) Deal With Power Struggles At Bedtime
Number 6 and Number 7 share a room. And every night, we have the same routine at bedtime. I read them a story, and then I lie down in their beds with them and sing them each two songs while I rub/scratch their backs. Usually we do things in the same order. I sit on […]
It’s Not About Consequences. It’s About Finding Solutions
A couple weeks ago I got an email from Number 6’s teacher. It wasn’t one of those I just wanted to tell you this story about how awesome your kid is emails. It was one of those Your kid is being a pain in the ass and I’m starting to lose my shit emails. Ugh. […]
Have You Become A “No Monster”?
How many times do you think you say NO to your kids every day? Five times? Twenty times? A hundred times? I bet if I kept track, it would be in the triple digits. Easily. Sometimes I say no to them before they can even finish a complete sentence. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. […]
6 Strategies To Help Your Kids Stop Fighting (And Tattling) That Work!
If your kids are anything like mine, they can really get on each other’s nerves. Big time. In fact, sometimes it feels as though my children’s main objective in life is to piss each other off as much as possible. And then rat the other one when they finally snap. It’s really annoying. And tiring. Why […]
Just The Tip Of The Iceberg
If you know anything about an iceberg, then you know the part that you see above the water is just a small fraction of it. The majority of the iceberg is underwater. Hence the saying, the tip of the iceberg. This is especially true with your kids. If they are demonstrating a certain behavior that […]