Control Versus Wishes: How to Avoid Power Struggles
Whether we are parents or teachers, we often struggle with kids who are strong willed. With these kids, we often find ourselves locked into battles over things that we have absolutely...
The Myth of Immediate Consequences
Many people think that if consequences are not delivered immediately after kids have an outburst or misbehave, then they won’t learn from their mistakes. This myth is based on the...
Helping Our Kids by Listening with Empathy
Kids who are not directly involved in traumatic events can still suffer anxiety by hearing about these events. Many kids have been affected by recent events and parents naturally want...
Kids and Our Technology-Filled World
Ever since we started our series of blogs and newsletters, we have written about technology and social media, the effect they can have on our kids, and how they can...
Don’t Set Yourself Up to Lose
Are some kids born stubborn, or do they become that way because of the way they are raised? Well, the answer is yes. Some children, as a condition of in-born...
Kids and Money: Four Steps to Financial Responsibility
Difficult times provide excellent learning opportunities for our kids. Kids who lived through the Great Depression learned many lessons about money that benefited them later in life. Now is no...
Recognizing Your Child’s Successes
There is nothing more discouraging for kids than giving them a constant stream of corrective feedback, or so-called constructive criticism, as they do their schoolwork. Psychologists have recognized that people...
Are You a Helicopter, Drill Sergeant, or Consultant Parent?
Jim Fay, my father, and his friend, Foster Cline, described three parenting styles in their book Parenting with Love and Logic, which was published in 1990. They coined the terms...
Helping Aggressive Toddlers: The Aggressive Toddler Cycle and When to Seek Professional Help
Some parents are experiencing more aggressive behavior from their toddlers recently and have called us for help. What they describe is a distressing cycle of behavior that they can’t seem...
