You know the drill: you’re trying to talk to your teen about curfew. Or dinner. Or absolutely anything—and they pretend they can’t hear you. They start an argument with you, or give you an eye roll and a "Whatever." Or they turn up their music. They won’t lift their eyes from their screens. They scoff... Read more »
Have you ever noticed that when things aren’t going right, particularly with your kids, your knee-jerk reaction is to do more of something—not less? If they are not listening to you, you most likely raise your voice, rather than lower it. If they are struggling with something difficult, you jump in with loads of ideas,... Read more »
When families call parent coaching, just about every call we get involves a question about consequences. Many parents struggle to find effective consequences while overlooking the importance of using rewards. We recommend establishing rewards or "incentive systems" for kids, which can be done easily using a behavior chart. Behavior charts are important to consider for several... 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? It might be a... Read more »
On the Empowering Parents Facebook page we asked parents to share the one day-to-day thing they find most frustrating about their kids. The overwhelming answer? “I have to tell my kid five times to do the simplest thing! Every single day, it’s a battle. I want to tell him once and have him march off... Read more »
What is the worst thing a parent can feel, in your opinion? I’ll give you a few seconds to think about that before I give you my answer. From my perspective, the worst thing a parent can feel is “hopeless.” This is when you're feeling like there's no hope for you, your child or your family... Read more »
Even before you become a parent, you start forming ideas about how you’ll raise your child. You get advice about it from all sides—your own parents and family, your friends, and books by so-called experts tell you "the rules" of good parenting. But most people soon find out that some of these techniques are simply... Read more »
You'd do anything for your child, but you feel guilty about admitting the truth, even to yourself. The truth is, sometimes you don't like your child very much. It's a secret that many parents of acting-out kids share but rarely confess to anyone. When parents say they don't like their child, I think that dislike almost... Read more »
No one starts out wanting to be a nag -- it just seems to happen. If you're the parent of an ADD or ADHD child, it can even become second nature, since these kids get distracted easily and are often forgetful. It may seem like reminding your child to do his homework is a good... Read more »
Does your child ignore your requests to clean his room? Does he seem unable or unwilling to do even the simplest household chores? How do you teach a child to be responsible without nagging and screaming? In addition to being a mom herself, Janet Lehman, MSW, is a social worker who successfully ran residential treatment... Read more »
