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Sep
26
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 There I was; driving home after spending a wonderful afternoon at the Nashville flea market with my family. I’d purchased a 1949 Mercury Hot Wheels car to add to my collection, Malita picked out some beautiful bows for daughter Campbell, and Mason got some new unopened Batmobile cars to decorate his Batman room. I don’t know who was more excited, Mason or me.
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Archive for the ‘Parental Authority & Control’ Category
Blog Posts by Dale Sadler
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Oct
07
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One of the main differences, and problems, I see with parenting today versus when I was a kid is how parents can cross each other when it comes to parenting.  A mother I know very well is a perfect example — she had taken to literally screaming at her six year old daughter to get her to do what she needed her to do. It wasn’t until I was in the kitchen one day when Dad came home that I understood why. When Dad walked through the door, the girl ran up to him and immediately asked for something her mother had already said “no” to. Dad, without a second thought, immediately said “yes,” and then chided Mom for saying no in the first place. The daughter shot a triumphant look at Mom, and walked off victoriously. It then hit me that, since Dad isn’t backing her up, the only tool Mom feels she has left is the Scream.
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Apr
07
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As parents, we hear a lot about the importance of being the authorities in our own homes. I know it’s hard for us Boomers—we’re the generation that was told to “question authority,” and no one is (or at least I’m not!) advocating a return to a 1950s “Daddy-Knows-Best” style of parenting. But the pendulum has swung way too far in the other direction .
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Dec
04
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Believe it or not, parents are starting to use the wisdom of the Dog Whisperer as they raise their children. At first, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. I grew up with animals and I love them, but my feathers get ruffled when people compare their dog to my child, or infer that you should treat your child like a dog. You know, one of those conversations where you’re explaining how your kid is misbehaving and making you crazy, and then some well-intentioned soul pipes up with, “Oh, my dog does the same thing. I know how you feel.” (Really? Because the last time I looked, your dog didn’t have a frontal lobe or opposable thumbs.)
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Jul
10
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Do you have one child who bosses your other kids around — and who seems to think they are the parent, instead of you? There are few things more frustrating for a parent than watching one of their kids giving their siblings directions and correcting them for anything or everything. And it’s even worse when your other kids start responding to your ringleader child instead of you!
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May
29
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“I hate screaming at my kids, but they make me so crazy, and I just lose it!” — If this sounds like you, trust me, you’re not alone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard parents say this on the Parental Support Line. As James Lehman says, kids watch us for a living — which means they become really, really good at pushing our buttons. By the teen years, your child is probably an expert!
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May
08
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Why are fewer parents using the word “No” and failing to give their children consequences that will make their inappropriate behavior stop?
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Nov
17
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The cycle of insanity in my family looked like this: parents responding the same, ineffective way, yielding to the erroneous belief that somehow THIS time the response would be different. With my son, we went down a boundary-less road of second chances and manipulation that handed over way too much power and landed him in a therapeutic wilderness program after he was court-ordered out of our home due to marijuana abuse.
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