I’ve had my hand in helping to raise dozens of children over the years. I’ve learned as much as I’ve taught through the experiences. As the actual, biological, full-time father of two of the boys, I’ve had a chance to put much of what I’ve learned into practice and learned still more.

So, it is with some authority that I discuss an often misunderstood and mis-categorized youth: the high energy child.  My younger son, soon to turn 4, falls squarely into this category.  It saddens me when some well-meaning but ill-informed people seem to think that “high energy” is a polite way of saying “bad”. (more…)

Tweet This Post

There are times when we feel that our children are out to undermine our authority; they seem to do things intentionally that are obviously not allowed just to see how parents react. Are children naturally manipulative? I think that the answer is NO. When children do things that can stretch their parents’ patience to the limit, they are not being manipulative, we just interpret that kind of behavior as such. We feel that we are being challenged by the little person in front of us every time that little person does something that is off-limits, and our natural reaction is retaliation. We attack in return without consciously knowing it. We punish, we show strong disapproval, we make our child feel the consequences of challenging us, of trying to manipulate us. But what if we have read our children’s behavior incorrectly? (more…)

Tweet This Post

Every year, after Christmas, families rush to the mall to return unwanted, unloved, or duplicate gifts.  Now, this seems normal, but many kids don’t tell you what they really dislike, and others are just rude when they tell you this.

Many kids don’t tell anyone if they received an item they did not like, had another of, or find goofy.  Now, kids do this for a variety of reasons.  Some kids are afraid they’ll hurt the gift giver’s feelings for telling anyone this, and they don’t want to do that to anyone, especially family.  My younger brother, for example, didn’t tell my parents he didn’t want Tony Hawk Ride because he thought he would hurt their feelings. (more…)

Tweet This Post

When our first son was venturing into the testing boundaries phase, I came up with what I thought was a simple and elegant disciplinary method.  If I told him to do something and he didn’t respond immediately, I began to count to three.  The theory was that if I got to three and he had yet to comply, he would be spanked.  I spanked him exactly twice, and the lesson was learned.  From that day on the count never passed two.  He is now a very compliant and obedient young man. (more…)

Tweet This Post

Even if gas prices rise or continue to stay high, road trips are a reality for most families. Here are some dos and don’ts to make them as pain-free as possible for every member of the family:

DO – Plan for extra time to stop and take a break. It’s healthy to let everyone get some movement every few hours. If you find a rest stop with bathrooms, ask your children to try to go, even if they claim that they “don’t have to go right now.” They will. (more…)

Tweet This Post