What to Do if Your Kid Leaves Dirty Dishes Laying Around
Poised, charming 23-year old Annie sat on the couch in my counseling office today and told me a brilliant parenting strategy that her dad pulled on her when she was a young teen.
Dear Kerry: “Toddler Full of Pasta”
Dear Kerry,My daughter is 2.5 years old and refuses to eat anything but the following: cheese, pasta, cheerios, milk, and bread. I have tried everything – being encouraging, being stern, offering “dessert”, talking, early bedtimes – nothing works! When I put something other than pasta in front of her, she screams “I no like it!!” […]
No More Hassles Over Picking Up Dirty Socks
Dirty Sock Dilemma After a long and tedious day I finally started to wind down, hours after I had hoped to. I started to head to bed only to find a heaping pile of filthy clothes, shoes and socks, right in the middle of the family room. I wanted to scream. I wanted to pull […]
Jude Keeps the Church Offering
Jude (6) confessed to keeping part of his offering out of the offering basket at church. Dad was initially mad. But then he decided to make this a learning opportunity and help his son develop conscience rather than create a pattern where he simply feared his father’s anger. Ask him how he felt when he did […]
One, Two, Boom! Connecting with Your Shared-Custody Child
Do you share custody of your children with their other parent and feel excluded from the other half of their lives? A single dad told me how he didn’t like that he doesn’t know about a full half of his kids’ lives because they are at their mom’s house 50% of the time. This innovative […]
And Then My Daughter Said.. “You’re Not a Rock Star!”
I started using my new Love and Logic skills of empathy and going brain dead. My 4 year old daughter wasn’t too happy when I set a limit about eating snacks before dinner. She started arguing back and I calmly said “I know.” I could tell she was trying to figure out a way to […]
I’m Running Away!
The other night my 7 year old son kept trying to argue about something. I used my new Love and Logic skill of not engaging and calmly replied “I know.” He ended with “What is wrong with you!!” I replied again, “I know.” He yelled “Ugh!” and ran off. The next morning he comes down […]
Three Different Parenting Styles
Drill Sergeant | Helicopter | Consultant Were you raised by a “Drill Sergeant” always telling you to “Jump,” and you asking, “How high?” or were you raised by a “Helicopter” always hovering, ready to swoop in and rescue? Did you ever think about what kind of a message these parenting styles send to your kids? […]
Does That Mean “NO”?
Here is a story of a mom in my class who learned a new skill to not engage in a battle with kids when they’re protesting a limit. That skill is called going “brain dead.” This works with kids of all ages. See what happens when she uses it to neutralize the “buy it for […]
Getting Kids to Pick Up – With No Nagging!
A dad I work with just announced to his 3 little boys that he has a new plan for a “Sunday Shelf.” Here’s how it works: • When the kids don’t pick up their stuff as asked, dad picks up for them and puts everything on the “Sunday Shelf.”• On Sunday, he pulls it all […]