I learned to never disagree with my dad. For reasons I’ve never fully understood, the few times that I expressed a contrary point of view — when I was old enough to feel confident that I had something to say — he physically attacked me. He never hurt me, because I was...
So many of the emotional flare-ups and conflicts that arise between parent and child are triggered by the failure to communicate effectively. Instead, we react emotionally, with frustration or anger. It's only natural, but it alienates your child. It's an old story....
The book, Connect with Your Kid, is a how-to manual for improving the 10 most important parent-child communication skills. And listening to understand is at the top of the list, for several reasons: When your child is trying to express something, you need to hear it....
When you improve the way you listen, your child will feel respected and understood, so they stay open to your guidance and the bond between you grows stronger.
What if you had great communication skills? Some parents do! But most don’t. When parents connect in ways that strengthen the bond with their child, kids are more open to parental guidance and wisdom. Most parents struggle with this. Learning powerful communication...
Communicating well is a foundation element of effective parenting. How can you be a parent to your child without communicating? Whenever there are problems between parent and child, ineffective communication is almost always a contributing factor. And yet, when you...
If your child should receive a request for a nude pic, how do you think they would react? You'd be surprised how many young people would laugh and consider it a harmless, fun thing to do, perhaps a way to be included with the cool crowd, never thinking about the...
I know several parents whose child is fast approaching adolescence. Even raising a sweet child can be difficult in many ways, but after puberty the challenges change. Middle school-aged children don't want to be treated like sweet little kids anymore. Far from being...
The past, the present, and the future. Here are some things to keep in mind. The past doesn't exist. Once you've experienced something, that moment is lost forever, except as a stored memory. Also, the images you've stored in memory are likely to be modified each time...
Smartphones are an amazing window into a world of countless marvels and dangers. Since kids have a lot to learn, giving a child a smartphone needs to be done with exquisite care. In this guest post, Scott Reddler (father of three and author of an infographic about...