We have to start asking different questions about our kids' behaviors if we want to be connected parents. Instead of asking "What are you doing?" ask "What do you need?" Addressing the need behind the behavior will help us to see our kids differently. When we see our kids differently, when we see their [...]
Category: Parenting
Keep Your Balance
I can still remember all of the babies we cared for over the years. While they were all unique, they all had one thing in common; being swaddled tight helped them sleep well. They loved the security that being wrapped tightly in the blanket provided. But it wasn’t only the swaddling that helped them sleep, [...]
Stuck
I don't like feeling stuck. Not physically stuck, although I don't particularly care for that either, but emotionally stuck. A place where my emotions seem to take over at a moments notice. I seem to be sailing through my day and wham, out of nowhere I get an email that rattles me. Someone makes a [...]
Our Kids are Watching and Learning
I truly believe that parenting is a leadership exercise. We are responsible for teaching and mentoring our children, we are their leaders. The mentoring part is so important because they learn more by watching what we do than they do from us instructing them. Some behaviors are taught, but most of them are caught. There [...]
From Pep Rally to Reality
I love going to conferences! Adoption and foster care, home school, women of God, marriage, to name a few. I love spending time learning from experts in the field. I love hearing stories from those who have failed and those who have found solutions. I always walk away from conferences feeling like I can do [...]
Repair Your Mistakes
There’s a simple truth about parenting that we have all come to understand; we all mess up. No matter how hard we try we will do and say things we wish we hadn’t. We will find ourselves sounding like our parents no matter how often we promised ourselves we would parent differently than we were [...]
Reinforce the Relationship Before you Remind them of the Rules
It took me a long time to embrace the idea that we should connect first even when correction is obviously necessary. After all, isn't dealing with the natural consequences of breaking a rule a prime teachable moment? Like most of you, we don't allow our kids to run in the house. So, when one of [...]
Are You Looking for an Easy Way to Say “Yes” More?
Would you love to have a simple parenting tool you can start implementing right away that will help you build trust with your kids? There is one simple word that can make a huge difference... "YES!" An easy way to begin giving our kids more yes’s is to make a Yes Jar. https://vimeo.com/188710828 Here's what [...]
Manage Your Expectations
We all have expectations. Expectations are normal. Expectations are healthy, but unrealistic expectations can create a barrier between us and our children. The expectations we bring to parenting matter just as much as our child’s history, abilities, and needs. In order to help our children heal and grow we need to pay attention to our [...]
A Rainbow After a Storm
Connected parenting would be so much easier if there weren't so many kids. I often find myself handling one meltdown only to have another kid meltdown. Or worse yet...two melting down at the same time! I have always wanted a big family. In fact, I told Ryan before we got married that I wanted six [...]