At Home
Helping vs Revenge
This quote sums up everything I’ve ever tried to say about “behavior” and does it so perfectly succinctly in four sentences. What’s the best-case scenario? That instead of wanting to get revenge on children for […]
respectful parenting
Personal
Second Generation Cycle Breaking
[Image description: A four-panel cartoon by @Revelatori. The story throughout the four panels shows that in the first panel, a stormcloud held by an adult is raining on a child. In the next panel, the […]
At Home
One Hundred
Something I’ve been trying out lately is counting to a hundred. I do it when I’m impatient with my kids for no actual reason. So I’m not saying this is for when you actually have […]
Child Development
Toddlers & Shame
It’s confusing to be a toddler. Toddlers often want to be “big kids” and be grown up (especially if they have older siblings)…but they may also really want to be “babies” and be taken care […]
Elementary
Making Myself Busy
This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. On a recent […]
Personal
Positive Expectations
You may have heard the advice to tell your kids what they CAN do, and not what they CAN’T do. Or, to say your POSITIVE expectations, not your NEGATIVE expectations. An example of this might […]
Personal
Offering Grace
My friend Jessica, who runs the page Once Upon an Upset, once wrote: “So many of us are afraid of getting taken advantage of that we forget the option of offering grace.” It’s strange that […]
At Home
Reward Charts
Two people have asked me questions about reward charts in the last week or so, so that seemed like a reasonable question to answer next. The reason for both of them asking it was because […]
Personal
Wouldn’t It Be More Fun…?
A few days ago, I was holding one of my children, who was distressed and melting down. We were sitting together on the couch while they sobbed, and then settled down, and then would remind […]
Philosophy
The “One Right Thing”
The WHY behind what parenting choices we make matters sometimes maybe even more than WHAT parenting choice we make. About four seconds before bedtime, my then-4yo switched which toy he wanted to bring to bed […]