Five Ways to turn Sibling Rivalry Around

father and kids

Sibling Rivalry or Sibling Opportunity? We can all probably remember the sibling rivalry that went on in our own families. As the oldest in my family, I certainly participated in plenty of bickering and arguing of my own. Once you become a parent though, what you participated in as a kid quickly becomes one of the most…

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The Secret Sauce for a Happy Child

Father and kids sitting on wooden dock

Positive and Negative Feedback Do you wonder what the key is to having happy children? Maybe you even wonder about the key to finding happiness in your own life? Turns out we don’t find happiness… it’s not even related to our circumstances.  Surprised? The Research on the Happiness Advantage In Shawn Achor’s  book, The Happiness Advantage, he…

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4 Steps to Better Communication

father and son

Using Communication to Change Misbehavior In my last post, I wrote about connection, the first of the three steps taught in the Parent Encouragement Program by author, Kathryn Reynolds Lewis. The second step outlined in her  book, The Good News about Bad Behavior is communication. It is important to note that communication follows connection. How often…

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What every child wants…

Children playing with painting

Misbehavior and belonging Studies indicate that children today are harder to teach and more difficult to discipline than in previous years.  Diagnoses of ADHD, anxiety and depression are skyrocketing.  What is a parent or educator to do?  How can we cope? Before identifying some approaches to the problem, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, the author of the…

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Parenting and the Word NO

mom and booy

The importance of learning the word: no One of the most important words, we as parents can learn to say is “no”.  I realize that I’m starting this post off on a rather negative note, and it’s certainly not my style, but it’s a hard lesson to learn and I was reminded of it just…

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What if being bored is good for kids?

bored kids

Three Ways to Slay the “I’m Bored” Dragon Summer is a time of relaxation and freedom.  It’s unstructured days and late nights;  movies and picnics, wild roller coaster rides at the theme park and lazy days poolside.  But eventually something will probably rear it’s ugly head.  It’s the dreaded “B” word. My kids would usually…

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