5 Ways to Help Your Children Find their Gifts and Passions
My son Ian has recently found a new program called Google Sketch Up. It was a free download that enabled him to learn how to start designing 3D pictures of houses and buildings. Ian started developing a passion for houses a couple of years ago, and he has been drawing one dimensional house plans for about a year. After we downloaded Google Sketch Up, we watched a few beginner tutorials together so he could learn some basics of the program. I told him to practice and design his first house for...
Read More10 Times it Might be Okay to Leave Kids Alone
My son Ian is 10 years old. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told him we need to leave to run a short errand, and he’s told me “I’m not going. I’m staying home.” I always humor him by saying “Okay, I’ll see you later.” But inside I know that Ian would never in a million years stay home alone because he is emotionally not ready for that step. As soon as I walked out that door, he would be chasing me to the car. But how...
Read More7 Effective Strategies for Dealing with Negative People
Have you ever been around a chronically negative person? How does he or she affect your mood in that moment? More than likely you will feel drained of energy or you’ll find yourself carrying around your own negative energy. Negative people make us feel angry and challenge our ability to stay positive. Whether your child or spouse has an occasional negative day or you deal with a family member, friend or co-worker that is chronically negative, there are things you can do to remain positive in...
Read MoreIs Fear Robbing your Child of His Joy in Life?
Did you know that “the estimated prevalence of anxiety disorders in children ages 9-17 is 13%”(www.healthcentral.com)? This figure doesn’t even account for children under the age of 9. All children and adults experience fear. It is built into our bodies to warn us of impending danger. But sometimes our imaginations can go above and beyond to protect us, causing the fear to intensify and sometimes be debilitating. Think for just a moment to when you were a child....
Read MoreTurning Your Child’s (or Your) Bad Day into a Good Day
Yesterday morning my son Ian woke up with his usual smile on his face, but that smile quickly faded when I told him it was shower day. He didn't want to take a shower. We had plenty of time so I gave him a choice of taking a shower with Dad, or a bath by himself. Reluctant to choose either one, he finally settled on the bath. As he settled into the bathtub of warm running water, I decided I would jump in the shower while he relaxed in the bathtub (he's 8 so...
Read MoreSurrender and Be Who You Are
A coach friend of mine, and father of two children, recently emailed me this article from Christianity Today titled “White Flag in the Mommy Wars”. After reading this article, I felt saddened by all the debates that go on about how to be a mom. Aside from outright abuse or neglect, there is no right way or wrong way to be a mom. A working mom is great! A stay at home mom is wonderful too! My kids grew up on formula, and lots of breastfed babies are thriving too. Time out...
Read MoreLearning to Accept Your and Other’s Uniqueness
I admit it. I have been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love for about 2 years now. Most of the time I have my head buried in non-fiction books, or my latest love Entrepreneur and Inc. magazines. But last night I needed a break from work so I picked up Eat, Pray, Love. At one point in the book, the author, Elizabeth, decided she was too talkative and she needed to change. For a social, bubbly kind of girl, vowing to practice silence was not an easy task. She...
Read MoreThe Kindergarten Transition
Well, the first week of kindergarten is behind us and the second week has begun. Why did this transition catch me off guard? I was definitely feeling the loss of my little Ian before he started kindergarten. I would think about the fact that he wouldn’t be home for lunch, and I would get sad. The house will be so quiet and I will have so much time on my hands. That’s a good thing, right? Hmmm. I just might have to adjust to this. I even told Ian I would really miss...
Read MoreNavigating the Teen Years
Cell phones, driving, girlfriends, My Space….the list goes on. It’s a whole other world parenting teenagers. Teenagers are big kids in an adult body, searching for their identity, as they seek the freedom of a 21 year old. I’ve attended two family parties in the last couple of months. At both parties, there were teenage family members enjoying their favorite alcoholic beverage. I’m thinking to myself, “Wait a minute – they’re not 21 yet. Do...
Read MoreThe Purpose of Relationships – To Learn and To Teach
Have you ever stopped and wondered why certain characteristics about people really get on your nerves or make you angry? Perhaps a spouse makes unwise monetary purchases. Maybe a friend constantly cancels your plans together. Or a child of yours is always losing things. Being in a relationship with someone has the potential to teach us a lot about ourselves. Sometimes we get angry at our loved ones because we see a part of ourselves that we don’t want to acknowledge in them. For...
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