10 Steps to Keep Your Kids from Cursing
1. Be Realistic Kids curse—on the bus, in the halls, in class, and in notes to each other. Your job is to acknowledge this reality and be a buffer to help your child filter them out. 2. Set Clear Rules Make it clear that certain words will not be tolerated. Define the words you consider […]
Keeping the Peace (with 5 Kids at home!)
We all want to have a peaceful home, but the reality is that conflict is a natural byproduct of people living together. But all hope for harmony in the house isn’t lost…there are three things that I’d like to share from my experience raising five children.
Raising Detail-Oriented Kids
When you are teaching your children how to be more detail oriented, there are two key things you can do to get the message across.
Lessons That Lovebirds Teach Us
For many years we had a big cage filled with love birds right outside our kitchen window. As I peered out the window every morning and studied their habits, I noticed three things that we all can apply to loving our spouses better. 1. I noticed that once the males and females paired off, they […]
The “Time Bandits” Of Our Life
Over the years I’ve found that we can be so busy helping others—our clients and constituents, volunteering at church or in the community—that we forget about our own families. It’s so easy to do, especially when we don’t get those accolades, awards, and applause from our spouse and kids. Think about it, have you ever […]
Getting Back to the Basics
When things in life start to go wrong, the best place to turn to make things right again is the beginning. Go back to the basics to help you get back on the right track. It works in sports and in relationships.
Four C’s for Communicating with Your Teen
My wife, Susan, is really good at communicating with our four teenagers and twenty year old. In fact, I often seek her advice on how I should handle various situations with our kids. So I asked Susan to write about the four C’s for communicating with your teen. Here is the wisdom she shares. 1. […]
Top 10 Automatic Replies to Avoid
1. “Just a Minute.” When parents say this, they are generally just placating the child. You may think you mean, “Just a minute…” but it usually turns out to be much longer than that, if at all. Your words hold a lot of weight with your children, and if you say “just a minute…” then […]
Turning off the ‘Tube’
For some, it may be stretching it a bit too far to just turn off the TV cold turkey. If that’s the case, here are some ideas of things we’ve done in our home. We have a rule that there is no T.V. during the school week. If there is a show that they […]
