When parents ask me for advice for problems they are facing, they are hoping for the cure-all, a guarantee, a silver bullet that would make them the perfect parent with perfect kids in 3 easy steps.
Of course we know there is no such thing, but we keep hoping.
However, in order to satisfy the need for [...]
You know that I believe parents should be involved in the lives of their children. But is it possible to be over-involved?
The term helicopter parenting means over-involvement to the point of being controlling and not allowing for age-appropriate independence.
Here’s what I’ve seen parents do that I would describe as a helicopter parent:
- Doing things for [...]
I just finished helping out with a week of Vacation Bible School at my church. It was tiring but fun.
Our VBS attracts a large number of kids from the community who do not normally come to our church. Guess which kids are the ones that everyone gets acquainted with real fast? Yup, the trouble makers.
The [...]
Everybody talks about her even though they are sick of hearing about her.
Nadya Sulman just confirmed that she will be doing a television show with her 14 children. No surprise there. It’s suppose to be a documentary, not a reality show, where the TV crew only comes to film 6 times a year.  (Source: Life&Style)
I am not [...]
The Bible tells fathers not to irritate and provoke their children to anger (Ephesians 6).
Children are naturally selfish, undisciplined and irrational. They want to play all the time, they don’t want to share, and they rarely act rationally.
It seems to me that to be a good parent, given the job of teaching our children to [...]
“The whole idea of caring for children was to keep them from doing stupid, dangerous, wicked things that could not be undone, until they learned enough self-control and good judgment that they could be expected to make their own decisions.”
That did not come from a parenting book. It’s actually quoted on page 226 of the [...]
Myths often have a bit of truth about them, and that’s why we often buy into them.
The problem with living with myths is that we end up frustrated with expectations that do not become reality. We beat ourselves up for not having a Martha Stewart house, or not having a HGTV landscaped garden, or not [...]
I came across a few articles that I found useful that may be of interest to you:
“Mean parents make happy children” – Do you children take you seriously or do they manipulate you? This article offers some valuable insights into teaching our children to respect us as parents.
“Reaching today’s generation” – In the age of [...]
It’s still hard for me to believe that my son turned 21 a couple of weeks ago! It is true what they say, children DO grow up fast!
Time crawled when my kids were babies when all I saw were dirty diapers and midnight feedings. But time, though it may have seemed slow, does not stand [...]
In yesterday’s post, I covered Part 1 of a reader’s question, “How do I pass our values on our children?”
Here are some more practical tips on how to pass our values on to our children:
1. Have good reasons for your stand.
“Why is it wrong to have sex before marriage? A lot of people do [...]
“Mom, can you help me with my science homework?”
I bring my laptop, my book, and mail to the dining room table so I can multitask while helping my daughter with homework.
“What question are you on?” I asked.
Answer email.
“What question was that again?”
Read a credit card offer.
“What did you say was the question?”
In an effort to [...]
A year ago November around this time, I officially launched this website Adventures In Parenting.
I didn’t quite know what I was getting into when I first started. I didn’t know how to promote the site, I didn’t know how to SEO and all that.
Yet somehow, you found me. I am so glad you did.
I want [...]
While at Kaiser for a check up, my doctor and I chatted about our families.
“Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be a doctor, ” my doctor tells me.
She is a mother of two girls, ages 5 and 7. After her first daughter was born, she cut down her schedule to working four [...]
“My kids don’t talk to me.”
You’d think that since we’ve known our kids all their lives and even live with them every single day of their lives, communication would be natural. But those very factors may work against us. Our children may have had too much of us! All we get is a grunt now [...]
If you have more than one child, you know it is unrealistic to think you can treat them all “equally.”
With different interests, personalities, and ages, it is impossible to be “equal.” The pie cannot be cut precisely the same. You can hear it already – “It’s not fair; he got the bigger piece!”
Our standard response [...]
I just received a couple of great comments from Joey, a mature 14-year-old with some great insights on parenting. You can see his comments on my post on “Get your kids off the computer without nagging” and “Video game addiction.”
Joey’s comments are a great lead into my post today.
I was interviewed by Aurelia Williams on [...]
I recently came across the story of Bill Havens. The name is not a familiar one, but he is a hero to me.
In 1924, Bill was set to go to the Olympic games in Paris to compete in the newly added sport canoeing. He was in fact favored to win the gold for the United [...]
“We have two chances at a parent-child relationship.”
This is one of the most significant lessons I learned from Dr. Laura.
I don’t always agree with Dr. Laura, but she got me between the eyes with this one.
As new immigrants to the United States, my parents had to work a lot. They never attended any of my [...]
Last year at age 19, my son had his first car accident – on the freeway, at night, and with a semi-truck behind him!
I thank God that no one was hurt. But the car was not worth repairing.
This podcast features an interview with Allan Ramsey, CEO and co-founder of www.SafeTeenDrivingClub.org. His mission is to provide [...]
I have this tendency to jump on my children and lecture them.
Yesterday, my daughter came home and says, “I’m tired.” This seemingly innocent remark set me off!
“You probably didn’t eat your lunch. You didn’t even drink half of your water bottle. And you stayed up too late last night. You better get your homework done [...]
I attended my daughter’s Back to School Night last week.
We are blessed to have a great turn-out of parents for such events at the schools.
Parent involvement is the number one factor in student success.
A friend who is a teacher told me of many incidences when she makes an appointment with parents to discuss their [...]
Are your children spending too much time on computer/video games and won’t stop playing?
Will an Internet Use Contract solve your problem?
When we draft such a contract, we want to make the kid promise to all kinds of restrictions – “I will not play more than 2 hours a day. I will not chat with strangers. [...]
There’s something wrong with the way American kids are being raised today.
Dr. Anne Pierce in her book Ships Without a Shore: America’s Undernurtured Children challenges commonly accepted notions about parenting such as nannys and daycare workers, hyper-structuring, and how Baby Boomers have affected the way we raise our children.
Dr. Pierce gives us good insights [...]
“Mom, what can I have for breakfast?”
I yell from in front of the comfort of my computer screen: “There’s cereal. You can get it yourself.”
My 12-year-old is certainly old enough to get her own breakfast, why should I disturb my ease?
But there were nagging questions going on in my head:
1. Do I want to answer [...]
My mother-in-law often says, “If you treat people well, they will treat you well.”
Do we want our kids to obey us, respect us, and be civil to us?
Then we have to do our part not to annoy our children.
Of course, if I am doing the right thing and my kids don’t like it, I don’t [...]
It may surprise you to know that my children do not like to drink soda.
We basically like to drink water. When we go out to eat, we save a lot of money because we don’t order any soft drinks. It’s great.
I didn’t drink soda growing up and never liked it. So when I had children, [...]
This is the 6th and last article on Effective Discipline
I heard on the radio of a dad telling the story of his 6 perfectly behaved children . He trained them properly alright. But as his children got older, he realized they were behaving out of fear and guilt. They did not dare disobey their [...]
This is the first article in a series on Discipline
Dr. Laura was asked a question by a mother about the proper method of disciplining her son to behave well when they go to the market.
Her response I thought was right on. Dr. Laura said, “It’s not always about discipline.”
Children do not behave the way [...]
“Why didn’t anyone tell me being a parent would be so hard?”
Let me tell you now – being a parent is HARD.
I was talking to a friend who has a one-year-old daughter. “She takes so much out of me,” he sighed.
Yes, being a parent is hard, but it’s also a matter of perspective.
While parenting is [...]
Roll up our sleeves: Getting involved is both rewarding and fun!
Join us for an interview with Heidi Gallegos, past school PTA President, elected School Board Member, Executive Director of the Regional Chamber of Commerce. She shares from her rich experiences in community involvement, and in raising her blended family which includes a set of twins.
Photo by kalandrakas
So we all want to be a better parent, right?
I am challenging myself and you along with me to the 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge.
We do one thing a day for 30 days that will help us become better parents. Sounds doable, doesn’t it?
After 30 days, I hope we would have developed [...]
A friend of mine paid me a huge compliment. It’s not about my hair, or my clothes.
She said, “If you wrote a book on parenting, I would read it.”
I know for a fact that I am not the best mom. Nor do I know all there is to know about raising children. I don’t pretend [...]
