Adventures in Parenting

When was the last time you received a personal piece of mail in your mailbox? I mean in your mailbox as in the one out in the front of your house, not your Email Inbox.
It’s a thrill when I get a personally addressed piece of mail. While email is certainly efficient, I miss getting mail [...]

You’ve heard it said that a good defense is a strong offense.
When it comes to dealing with problems between siblings, this principle certainly holds true. When brothers and sisters fight constantly, no amount of screaming, threats, or punishment seem to be able to abate it.
I think the best way to deal with sibling quarrels is [...]

Do you have assigned chores for your children?
How do you decide which chores they are to do? Based on age and the difficulty of the task they can handle? I have another suggestion on how to decide on chores for your children to do.
Today, our task on Day 18 of our 30 Days to [...]

Much of what we’ve been emphasizing so far on our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge is building positive messages with our family. I believe a positive atmosphere of love and affirmation can achieve more than negative criticisms.
On the other hand, there of course has to be discipline when warranted.
Today is Day 17 of our [...]

I bet that for most of us, if not all, our family is what will mean the most to us at our death bed. We would say, “Oh, I wish I had told them how much they mean to me.”
Have no regrets!
Our task today on Day 16 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge [...]

Are relationships a little strained in your home?
Has everyone been stressed lately, pressured with work, school, and chores?
What you need is to get de-stress with a good laugh.
This will be a fun activity to do with your children today, on this Day 15 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge.

Go to the bookstore or [...]

“Pick up your clothes!”
“Hurry up and finish your homework!”
“Get off the computer NOW!”
Are our children hearing negative commands from you all day?
Today is Day 14 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge. I warn you, the task today will be a real challenge.
Whenever you feel a negative statement coming out of your mouth, STOP! [...]

Is parenting the most rewarding job in the world?
Absolutely!
Is is the easiest job in the world?
I wish it was, and I wish good and effective parenting comes naturally.
But the truth is, being a parent is exhausting. We have to be constantly alert, we have to make quick on-the-spot decisions, and we are called upon [...]

Today’s task for this Day 12 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge will only take a few minutes to complete.
Simply write a short note to each member of the family today. The content doesn’t have to be a long. Just an encouraging word, something funny, a word of acknowledgment is all you need [...]

Today’s task for our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge will seem strange. But trust me. I’ve done this before and it’s good.
Take the whole family to a cemetery.
You read correctly.
We usually go after a late breakfast on a nice Saturday morning. My family would walk around the gravesites, reading the epitaph. We see how [...]