Do you worry about what other people think of you as a parent?  Do you need other people to think of you as a good parent, for you to feel like you’re doing a good job?  I ask this because that was me.  I was not a confident parent, but I had a child who was born naturally confident — and I learned a lot from her.

 My daughter was born strong-willed, and she figured out a way to express...

When your child “misbehaves”, do you think they’re being disrespectful?  As parents, we all take pride when other people tell us that our children are great kids…  and that they are so well-behaved.  It makes us feel good, and we tend to make that mean that we’ve done a good job as a parent.  But what about when they “misbehave”?  

I was coaching...

Do you get triggered when your child misbehaves?  I know that I often did when my children were little.  In my mind, they always seemed to pick the worst times to not listen and not do what they were “supposed” to.  That’s when I would go into command and demand mode.

Unfortunately, at the time I didn’t know how my children’s brains were developing and what their...

As we kick off a new year, have you taken any time to review the prior year, what you’ve accomplished, and what you’re proud of?  Personally, I love this time of year.  I love to review where we were a year ago and how much has changed — and I love to ponder and get intentional about planning for what we want in the upcoming year.  

I invite you to join me and take a few minutes to...

Every year at the holidays, do you struggle to squeeze in as much as you can, wanting to create the best memories possible for your kids?  In the process, do you miss out on the Joy of the Season because you are running around trying to get everything done?

Trust me - I get it!  For so many years that was me!  I was so busy with holiday cards and gifts for everyone for both home and work, baking cookies...

It’s the time of the year when there are lots of family gatherings and lots of opportunities for your relatives to observe you parenting your children.  As parents, we always want to be proud of our kids, so we have lots of expectations that our children will behave a certain way at family gatherings.

Unfortunately, family gatherings also typically mean that our kids get overstimulated and jacked up on...

Do you have a child who is really good at pushing your buttons and getting a reaction from you?  They might be the type that gets easily frustrated, which has you walking on eggshells or bending over backward to support and make things okay for them — or maybe they’re strong willed and prefer to do things their way.

Power struggles happen with all different types of kids at all different ages.

I...

Do you have a child that really pushes your buttons?  Let’s face it, most of our kids know what bothers you, your spouse, and their siblings.  They know if a comment, rolling their eyes, or just looking at their sister is going to evoke a reaction — and yes, sometimes they do it on purpose, but it’s typically not for the reasons you would think.

Kids can push buttons to evoke a reaction from...

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and this time of year we are typically counting our blessings and discussing that which we are grateful for — and once we intentionally start looking for things that we’re grateful for, our brains start to filter for it and we start to see things differently.  All of a sudden, we are seeing more of what is right in our world and finding the gifts in the...

As we are now into the season of gratitude, what are you most grateful for?  

Years ago, my kids and husband gave me a 365 Days of Gratitude Journal and I committed to filling it out for the year — and it was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life.

I realized that it wasn’t the big things or experiences that I was most grateful for, it was the small moments of connection with the humans in...

Do you have a child that avoids homework or has a hard time getting started?

Last week guest expert Jen Dwyer shared information on Executive Functioning and some guidelines for setting up EF supports, but for kids who struggle with focus and fidgeting there are a few additional things you can do.

As Jen shared last week, please remember that for kids who struggle it isn’t attitude, misbehavior, or...

When your child is not behaving as you would like, do you get frustrated and start focusing on getting them to STOP?

It seems like the logical answer.  That’s what I did when my children were little and what many parents do today.  Because let’s face it, unwanted behavior from our kids can trigger us as parents in all sorts of ways.

Let me give you some real examples from my coaching with parents...