It’s Sunday. Sunny and mild March foothills weather. Sunday is traditionally family day at our house. Today we are all here but doing our own thing. Mu husband is fixing a squeak on his mountain bike (specifically, rear-disc brakes, he just informed me.) My son is building his Lego MindStorms ping pong catapult for Science class. Before I sat down to write this post I
Parenting is a job thrust upon untrained workers. Parents often look to other parents for tools. I call it Over-the-Fence Parenting as I am reminded of my mother leaning over the fence to talk with her neighbor about the latest recipes, mothering issues, and neighborhood news. Later, when I saw films of tribal women talking together as they worked, I would think of my
I have often caught myself using wants and needs with my son. “Zed, I need you to take out the trash,” or “I want you to stop playing that video game.” These statements seem pretty harmless. They will often jump start Zed into doing what I ask. However, by using want or need, it sounds like I want or need something personal for myself.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha knew what she was singing about. She wasn’t asking for love. She wanted respect. I love my kid to pieces. But when Zed is not listening to my voice and chasing the dog with a paint brush in his hand and the model-airplane paint (permanent, of course) is now on my newly-redecorated kitchen cabinets, I will admit to not feeling so loving. Fortunately,
Not to be feared, those three special words: “I am Bored!” I love it when Zed says this. I know that just around the corner is something amazing – a new Lego creation, an invention, a game out of sticks and pine cones, or . . . ? So when I hear this childhood rant that paralyzes some parents, a little thrill runs through
“Time’s up. Turn off your iPad,” I yell from the kitchen to another part of the house. “What, Mom?” my son yells back. “No more Minecraft!” I yell a little louder. “WHAT?” I am agitated now. He must be ignoring me. At full-throttle volume: “TURN IT OFF!” Has this ever happened to you? Daily, maybe? One of the biggest changes we made as a
The 3R’s of Positive Behavior is an excellent manual for educators. There are a lot of GREAT classroom techniques that can transfer to parenting as well. The 3Rs are Respect, Responsibility, and Reliability. If you like the idea of Thematic Parenting, this is a “Go-To” resource. This manual is written by my father, Gailen Keeling. I grew up with first-hand experience of many of
It’s Sunday. Sunny and mild March foothills weather. Sunday is traditionally family day at our house. Today we are all here but doing our own thing. Mu husband is fixing a squeak on his mountain bike (specifically, rear-disc brakes, he just informed me.) My son is building his Lego MindStorms ping pong catapult for Science class. Before I sat down to write this post I
If the child cries for what they want, the answer is always “No.” Always? Yep. Consistency is key with this tool. If you’ve ever found yourself giving into a demand made by your child just to stop the crying, this is a good one. We instilled this practice early on in our parenting and we avoided so many of those kinds of struggles with
