As a six year old boy, I remember being so scared of the haunted mansion at Disneyland. The ride began as a group of people walked into a large room and listened to a narrator tell us what we were in for. As I remember, the narrator had a deep, spooky voice and he stated we were welcome to come in, but we would never get out. Then suddenly the lights would go out. Everyone would hear a scream and
Have you ever seen a kid have a meltdown over something that seemed unimportant? For example, you start to help your toddler get dressed and you grab the Spiderman Shirt rather than the dinosaur shirt and he suddenly goes ballistic. Or maybe you order a hamburger rather than chicken nuggets and your child throws a conniption fit in the back seat. What could be so important about a dinosaur shirt and chicken nuggets that could cause our kids to fall
It’s easy to fall into the trap of demanding and threatening as a parent – especially when you want your child to get something done quickly. “If you don’t clean your room right now, you can forget about playing on the IPOD for the rest of the day.” Or “If you don’t finish your chores in the next 30 minutes you’re not going to have any friends over today.” Or finally, “I am sick and tired of you leaving your
During a parenting class, one mother stated, “My kids are so sarcastic. They are constantly being rude to each other and being sarcastic with me.” Then she asked, “Do you think they got that from me?” The simple answer to that question is probably so. Children generally learn how to interact with people by watching their parents (and other adults) interact with them and with others. When parents use sarcasm to release frustration or to point out what they think
As a father who works outside the home, I recognize that it is easy for me to get caught up in stress at work. Indeed, sometimes it is difficult to turn off my work focus and turn on my family focus so that I can come home and be the loving husband my wife needs and the playful father my kids want. Father’s have such an important and irreplaceable role in the family. Good fathers provide stability and strength to
Holidays are a great time for families and extended families to get together and strengthen their relationships with each other. During the festivities parents may talk and laugh together while kids play and run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Occasionally, in the midst of a conversation, a parent or two will hear screaming accompanied by one or more children crying. As loving parents often do, a parent may rush into the scene to find out what happened
Do you ever feel like you mess up as a parent? I know I do. Even though I have read plenty of parenting books and, in fact, teach parenting classes, sometimes I still mess up as a parent. Even so, is it nice to know that I don’t have to be a perfect parent to raise great kids; I just need to keep a couple of things in mind: 1. It is better to use parenting techniques poorly and show
I once worked with a mother and her three-year-old son (who was more like the size of a six-year-old). She told me that she was trying really hard to be consistent with the way she disciplined him but the consistancy wasn’t having a positive effect on her child’s behavior. I asked her to share with me the disciplining techniques that she was using. She responded that she consistently put him in the corner when he would misbehave and she consistently
Have you ever had to hold down your child, pry open his mouth, and insert a tooth brush just to make sure your child’s teeth get clean? I have. And I have also seen how ineffective it is, especially when the child just bits down on the brush and stops any cleaning action. Would you like a few ideas that may ease the battle over teeth brushing? Here are three Love and Logic ideas worth giving a try. 1 –