Your child: “Everyone else is going to the party. Why can’t I?” You: “I don’t care what ‘everyone else’ is doing. You can’t go and that’s final.” Your child: “Why are you so mean? You never let me do anything. I hate you!” Do you ever wonder if your rules are too strict—or too... Read more »
Calm Parenting—most of us aspire to it, desire it, and even promise ourselves we’re going to do it—but it’s so difficult to sustain. We know how important it is to parent from our principles rather than from our fears, but despite our best intentions we lose it and end up yelling at those we love... Read more »
Here at Empowering Parents, we’ve received many messages from parents sharing sadness and disappointment over the way their kids have turned out. It’s a subject we don’t talk about very often, but it’s one that really deserves some attention. In The Total Transformation Program, James Lehman talks about parenting the child you have rather than the... Read more »
Today’s mothers are all too familiar with the so-called “Mommy Wars,” an expression used to stereotype the struggles and challenges faced by stay-at-home mothers versus those of working or career mothers. Like with all stereotypes, the Mommy Wars conflict is far more complicated than that. When we talk about the Mommy Wars, what we’re really... Read more »
Summertime is on the way. While many parents look forward to a more leisurely pace, others dread the season because the structure in their kids’ schedules breaks down. It’s important to begin as early as possible to help your children plan their time—and that includes establishing their curfew. Establishing curfew times—and holding your children to it—can often... Read more »
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “free-range” parenting? Many people picture extremely lenient parents who impose few rules and fewer consequences. However, as with many stereotypes, that’s far from the truth. Free-ranging parenting, like all parenting, takes a lot of hard work—and for the kids, being free-range is a hard-earned privilege. As a... Read more »
Feeling underappreciated goes with the territory of parenting. As a mom, how many times have you wished for more acknowledgement for all you do—from your children, your mate or society? And how many times have you been disappointed when you didn’t see or feel that acknowledgement and encouragement coming back to you? Related: Empower yourself with... Read more »
“It’s not fair! You’re always yelling at me, even when it’s not my fault!” Sound familiar? The minute you say no, or set limits, or try to enforce the rules, your child immediately says that you’re not being fair and that you always pick on him. He overreacts constantly to routine requests and takes no responsibility... Read more »
Patience. It’s something many of us in the Empowering Parents community wish we had more of. In a recent poll, we asked readers about how you respond when your children act out. An overwhelming number of parents expressed the desire to develop more patience with their kids. But what exactly is patience? For many people, me... Read more »
Child behavior problems can quickly feed into a perception of yourself as having a dysfunctional family. If you see yourself and your family that way—or if you’ve been labeled as one of those dysfunctional families—you’re not alone. A lot of parents struggle with the idea that their family doesn’t measure up to their own hopes... Read more »