We were supposed to be going to Hawaii. It had all been planned months ahead of time. Of course it had. This was going to be my first time and I was excited. We wanted to make the best of it and maximize our time, so I worked through Thursday, and our flight was early Friday morning.
Continue reading “Flight Cancelled with Kids: Let’s Make the Best of It.”Category: Failure
What To Do When Parents Shame Their Kids.
We use shame with our kids because it works. Sure, we try not to, we know it’s not the best. But here and there, under pressure, it pops out and it’s kind of a relief because we finally get compliance. Except that we’re causing a much bigger problem down the road.
Has someone criticized you or said something shaming to you lately? It feels like a slap in the face. You may feel it as the unpleasant tingle of a blush starting on your face, tightness in your throat and nausea in your belly. Or perhaps you defend yourself from shame by reacting with swift anger. So it won’t surprise you that your kids react to shame this way too.
Continue reading “What To Do When Parents Shame Their Kids.”Forgiving Ourselves: Letting Go of Shame in Parenting
A guest post by Dr. Melissa Welby.
I make parenting mistakes daily. Maybe I forget to do something I said I was going to do, not have enough patience to adeptly navigate parenting challenges, or waste my time mindlessly scrolling social media instead of focusing on more productive areas. I will never be perfect, despite doing my best.
Continue reading “Forgiving Ourselves: Letting Go of Shame in Parenting”What if I Mess My Kids Up for Life?
One of the women shared that every night she prays, “God, don’t let me mess this child up.” We all immediately jumped in to support her and tell her how that wasn’t going to happen. It’s the truth.
What Effective Parents Do Differently.
The ShouldStorm we face as parents draws its power from hidden beliefs. One of the most problematic of those untrue beliefs is the idea that if we make a mistake we are going to mess our kids up for life. We particularly feel this if we make a mistake consistently.
Continue reading “What if I Mess My Kids Up for Life?”Swooping Seagulls
Nature Teaches Kids with Natural Consequences
“The seagulls sure are beautiful, Mom,” said one of my kids on our first evening at the beach in Florida. “Yeah, they are pretty cool,” said the other. “It’s like Finding Nemo!” The two of them started chirping: “Mine Mine Mine Mine.”
Continue reading “Swooping Seagulls”4 Lessons from a Truly Terrible Cross Country Runner
I always loved my father’s stories about his glory days as a runner. He was tall and lanky, an ideal build for a distance runner. He ran in high school, and he was later recruited as a runner in college. That scholarship was his path to an engineering degree at a good school. He used to love to tell stories about his races. His favorite races were the ones he nearly lost, when he came from behind and sprinted past the leader for the win. For my Dad it was always the joy of the contest.I was just the worst runner. Just terrible.
Continue reading “4 Lessons from a Truly Terrible Cross Country Runner”