Recent Podcasts
Ep #145: Helping kids deal with emotional dysregulation using Effective Praise
If your child experiences extreme emotional responses to small events they may be experiencing emotional dysregulation.
Ep #144: ADHD and trauma
The symptoms of ADHD and trauma are very similar. Frequently kids who have been diagnosed with ADHD also experience trauma.
Ep #143: Techniques to help kids with ADHD get things done
Motivating kids who have ADHD can be challenging as kids with ADHD tend to lose focus easily. Kids with ADHD tend to lose focus easily so motivating them to get things done can be tricky.
Ep #142: Getting kids to listen without yelling
No parent likes giving the same instruction over and over again only to have it ignored. When parents reached this stage, they think their only course of action is to get their child’s attention by yelling. There is a better way to engage with your child that creates connections.
Ep #141: Behavior skills will give you confidence in your parenting
It doesn’t take too many tantrums for many parents to realize that they don’t know how what to do.
Ep #140: Connecting with your child instead of controlling them
When a child cannot control their own emotions, it can be easy for parents to step in and do it for them. While it may help our child in the short term, it isn’t a long-term solution.
Ep #139: Why parents shouldn’t use corporal punishment when disciplining
When it comes to discipline, parents shouldn’t use corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is any physical, mental, or emotional pain inflicted on our kids.
Ep #138: Changing defiant behavior
Dealing with defiant behavior can be difficult for many parents. They may feel that their child will never make any improvement, and dealing with defiant behavior will be forever a part of their family dynamic.
Ep #137: Focusing on what kids do right
We’ve heard so many parents say, “My child doesn’t do anything right.” Even the “worst” kids do things right. In fact, they may be doing a lot right. If we‘re focusing on the “bad,” that will be all we see, and we will miss what they do well.
Ep #136: Using behavior skills with ADHD and ODD
Many children with ADHD also have Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Understanding the difference between these two diagnoses will help parents better understand how to help their child.
Recent Blogs
The parenting advice you really need: 5 things to teach your kids
The parenting advice you really need: 5 things to teach your kids
The world is full of parenting advice: potty training tips, how to be a happier mom, life hacks that will rock your world, 572 ways you are ruining your child’s life…and so much more.
Many of these ideas are good, but in the age of information overload, sometimes it just becomes too much. Parents read one “good” idea after another and become overwhelmed trying to implement all of them. […]
6 things parents do that undermine relationship
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Teaching kids self-government to improve family life
Teaching kids self-government to improve family life
Teaching kids in a way where they learn to make positive decisions on their own will greatly improve family life at home. After the initial work of teaching your child, you will correct less, your child will follow rules more often, and it will increase a child’s confidence to act appropriately on their own. […]
5 Things you should never say to your child
5 things you should never say to your child
After my daughter had interrupted my sewing project for what felt like the hundredth time, I said one of those things you should never say to your child, “Go away so I can finish this!” Her countenance went dark and I immediately tried to back pedal and undo what I had said. Unfortunately imperfect moments happen and there will be times we need to apologize for saying something to our child that we shouldn’t have said. […]
Why it’s important to have low parenting tolerances
Why it’s important to have low parenting tolerances
Understanding your own tolerance level can help you work towards maintaining consistent parenting techniques. Tolerance is your ability or willingness to tolerate certain behaviors that you do not necessarily agree with. A tolerance level lies on a continuum from high tolerance to low tolerance, with high tolerance meaning that you tolerate more of the behavior you don’t like and low tolerance that you tolerate less of that behavior. […]
Natural vs artificial motivators for kids
Natural vs artificial motivators for kids
There is a balance between using natural motivators and artificial motivators to encourage a child to behave appropriately. Earning stickers or having a reward jar is a great way to increase motivation initially, but eventually you want children to learn the inherent reward that acting positively will provide. Children will not learn this on their own, but need to be guided. […]
When parents don’t parent the same
When parents don’t parent the same
Scenario 1: A 12-year-old girl comes home from a friend’s house 30 minutes later than when […]
5 keys for raising emotionally healthy children
5 keys for raising emotionally healthy children
Raising emotionally healthy children is a common desire all parents strive for. But what does being “emotionally healthy” actually mean? Answering this question can help in addressing the emotional needs of a child and determining how to teach your child to be emotionally healthy. Being emotionally healthy does not mean that they will not have negative emotions, rather it means that your children can respond well to negative emotions and can decrease those negative emotions in an appropriate way. […]
Using Parenting classes to make you a better parent
Using Parenting classes to make you a better parent
Before I was a parent, I had all sorts of ideas about how to raise children. My children were going to be adorable: the happy children that never threw tantrums over the (cruelly placed) giant lollipops at the grocery check out. The ones who always willingly shared their toys during playdates. The ones who ate a wide variety of food with smiles on their faces at every meal. […]
Using chore charts and age appropriate chores
Using chore charts and age appropriate chores
Chore charts. A quick search online will yield an almost limitless supply of colorful printables, ideas for positive rewards, and lists of age appropriate chores. However, even though there is plenty of information on the topic, most parents aren’t assigning chores.
Braun Research in reported in 2014 that while 82% percent of parents reported having done chores as children, only 28% required the same work of their own kids. […]