This is Number 3’s phone. I’ll get to the significance of the photo in a minute. First, it’s important to know a few things. Number 3 is in 8th grade, and he just got his first phone about two months ago. I believe he may have actually been the last person in his grade to […]
power struggles
A Sense Of Humor Is One Of Your Most Powerful Parenting Tools
I was voted the “Class Clown” my senior year in high school, and I like to find the humor in any situation I can. If you asked my friends to pick a couple words to describe me, there’s a good chance funny would be one of them. I mean, Not Your Average Mom started out […]
Because Nobody Wins In A Power Struggle
Number 6 is currently my most challenging child. He is defiant, and he says no, and in a power struggle, he often comes out on top. It’s easy to get sucked into a power struggle without realizing it’s even happened. It took a number of them over the last couple days to snap me out […]
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 […]
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. […]
How To Successfully Avoid Morning Power Struggles With Your Kids
Power struggles are the worst. They are exhausting and infuriating. What we may not realize, though, is that our kids aren’t creating this problem. We do it to ourselves! We don’t mean to do it. Many of us don’t even realize when we are doing it. But when you really pay attention to this, you might be […]