View Article  Successful Parenting: getting Your children to listen to you

Have you ever felt frustrated because your children don’t listen to you?  Would you like to know how to become more successful by getting them to listen to you without having to raise your voice?  Here are some suggestions:

 

First of all, make sure you’re facing your child, looking at him or her in the eye.  You also have to get your child to look at you.  So if the computer is being used or the television is on, move your child away from other activities so you get direct eye contact.

 

Successful parenting happens when there’s a two-way communication happening.

 

The second thing you can do as a parent is to ask your child to repeat what you said simply and calmly saying, “What did you hear me say?”  When your child tells you, you respond with a “Great listening!” comment ...   more »

View Article  Successful Parent Tip for Dealing with Whining, Screaming Store Behaviors

Have you as a parent, ever felt embarrassed or frustrated by your child’s behavior in a store?  Your child wants you to buy something that’s not on your list and all your parenting skills are challenged by your child’s whining, screaming or temper tantrums?  Perhaps during these times, you felt anything but successful and confident as a parent.

 

It’s difficult to know how to be a successful parent with today’s children.  I remember my son putting me through such an experience when he was four years old.  I wanted to crawl inside of my coat and disappear form all the eyes watching us in the store as he fell on the floor in a rage, screaming and kicking because I wouldn’t buy him a candy bar.

 

Somehow, I knew then there were very high stakes involved in terms of how I handled this situation.  ...   more »

View Article  How Children Help Us Improve Our Parenting Style

Want to know what I love about being a parent?  If I goof up and “blow it”, I know my son is going to give me more opportunities to practice parenting differently.  Many of us could improve our parenting styles and become more successful parents if we stopped to watch our children’s behaviors from a different angle.

 

No, I don’t mean looking at them sideways or upside down!  I believe children are one of the karmic ways we get paid back for our "choices" of the past.  How is that so, you might ask.  I have an exercise for you to do. to help you become more aware of your parenting style.

 

1.      Take out a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle of the page. 

2.      On the left side of the sheet, write down a ...   more »

View Article  Successful Parenting: Playing the "Point System"

I’m always amazed at the creativity of children’s minds when it comes to “playing“ their parents or other care givers.  They play so emotional mind games on the adults who don’t even have a clue as to what’s going on.  Remember when I talked about the importance of giving children choices instead of ordering them to do something?

 

Well, if you ignore this message of caution, your children will react to you in some passive aggressive way that you may not even notice.  It doesn’t matter—for they notice it and they score a point.

 

Oh, didn’t I tell you about the point system?

Children and parents play this game (Usually unconsciously) where they work at getting the most points.  Each time a child gets a parent upset, the child wins a point.  Each ...   more »