EmpoweringParents.com

One of my main goals as a mom — and in my opinion, one of the most important qualities you can have as a parent — is to be more flexible and adaptable. Now, when I say “flexible” I don’t mean that you should throw rules, limits, or structure out the window. What I mean is that we all need to be open to trying new ideas and techniques when the old ones aren’t working anymore.

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I’ll admit it — I yell at my son more than I’d like. Take yesterday, for example. We were on our way out the door (it always seems to happen when we’re in a hurry) trying to make it to Alex’s first Parent-Teacher conference of the year. Getting out of the house is challenging for us, but it all started out well, with me laying down the ground rules: “OK, I need your cooperation so we’re not late today.” This swiftly devolved into shouting at the top of my lungs, “Come on! I said we needed to hurry. I’m starting to get angry now!”  In fact, I went from the Calm Mother voice to the Crazed Mother voice in, oh, about 30 seconds.

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My husband Kemuel (another EP parent blogger) and I have co-raised three children, who are now in their mid-20s and successfully living on their own in careers and lives they have chosen for themselves.  I remember how useful the advice of parents who had gone ahead of me was while I was actively in the trenches raising my kids — so I offer you these words of wisdom that provided me with strength and guidance when I needed it.

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Congratulations to the winners of our EP Contest, “This Parenting Technique Really Worked for Me!”

This week, we are posting the final three winners of our contest in the EP Blog, accompanied by a response from Parental Support Line Advisor Carole Banks. Each of our 10 winners will receive a signed copy of James Lehman’s new book, Transform Your Problem Child.

Thank you all once again for writing in and sharing your transformation into an “Empowered Parent” with us!

– Elisabeth Wilkins, EP Editor & the Empowering Parents Team

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Congratulations to the winners of our EP Contest, “This Parenting Technique Really Worked for Me!”

We received so many great entries, it was truly hard to choose just ten. Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

For the next three weeks, we’ll be featuring the winning entries in our blog, with a response from Parental Support Line Advisor Carole Banks. And each of our winners will receive a signed copy of James Lehman’s new book, Transform Your Problem Child.

Thank you all once again for writing in and sharing your transformation into an “Empowered Parent” with us!

– Elisabeth Wilkins, EP Editor & the Empowering Parents Team

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If you’re the parent of a child with ADHD, check out the upcoming ADHD Family Summit. This is a free 6-week Teleseminar that you can listen to starting May 4th. Dr. Bob Myers, EP’s resident ADHD expert and creator of the Total Focus Program, will be participating in the ADHD Family Summit, along with 11 other professionals who specialize in the field of ADHD and ADD.

A few of the topics covered in the seminar:  “Understanding the ADHD Brain” with Theresa Cerulli, M.D.; “But My Child Is Really Bright…The Potential Overlap For Misdiagnosis And Overdiagnosis Of ADHD” with James T. Webb, Phd; “ADHD Medication Mastery - What You Really Need To Know About Safe And Effective Medication Management” with Kenny Handelman, M.D.; and “Mastering Total Focus To Help Support Your Loved Ones When They Need It the Most” with Dr. Bob Myers.

Starting May 4th, each one hour program will be held on Monday and Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. EDT. There will be a 24 hour replay in case you miss it live. All you have to do is register on the ADHD Family Summit site.

Hope this is helpful, and let us know if you participate!

Bristol Palin announced this week that she wants to set the record straight on some of the media stories about her pregnancy. She has a healthy baby boy and is engaged to the baby’s father. The best option is abstinence, the teen said, but added that she didn’t think that was “realistic.”

So what is a realistic expectation when it concerns teenagers and sex? In her interview Bristol mentions that being a mother is not glamorous. Don’t we know it, parents! How quickly images fade of cuddling a newborn in that crook between shoulder and ear. Soon a teen parent, heck any age parent, is faced with endless diapering and poop-filled hours. If Bristol Palin knew that motherhood would not be glamorous, would that have prevented her from having had sex? What if her fiancé thought she would not be glamorous as a mom, would that have stopped them?

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As most of you know, I usually write about issues facing parents of young children for EP, but this past week something happened with my middle schooler that gave me pause.  My son participated in the annual science fair, which in itself is not remarkable. What was remarkable was how many projects were clearly accomplished by the parents, and not the children.  As I walked through the school gym looking at the winners, I started wondering how many projects and assignments kids really do on their own nowadays.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about parents helping, coaching, or even correcting their kids work.  I’m talking about parents taking on their children’s assignments as their own, and letting their kids take a back seat.

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