Our family believes in natural and logical consequences. We also strive for positive guidance through tough situations. But when a child becomes defiant or lies, natural consequences feel a little less “black and white” and a lot more confusing both for caregiver and child. It’s easy to feel like we’re grasping at straws to find a…
Sitting on the sofa one evening my husband picked up his phone and started scrolling. A mere thirty seconds later he started smiling and laughing. “It’s a great time to be alive, Kara, a great time to be alive. I have an image in my head from when I was a kid and I just searched…
Armed with what I felt was the perfect curriculum to shape 125 young teenage minds to understand, apply, and actually enjoy world history, I walked into a classroom of sophomores in a small private school to begin my teaching career. I realized that after that first week of school, I had to reshape my expectations,…
The baby was crying. The toddler was beating on pots and pans. The kindergartener was sick. And I had a list a mile long not getting done. And suddenly I realized my family was heading down a spiral of bad moods and bad ‘tudes. I lost all empathy to every little thing that was happening….
Spending time together as a family is truly one of the most memorable and impactful ways we can invest into our children while they still live at home. And a feeling of family togetherness is the most precious gift we can give to our children as toddlers, kids, and teens, making them want to come…
Noise is one of my triggers. And when anyone in my family spends a little too much time in front of a screen we get a little crazy. And those are the days I wish there was a magic family reset button. I start wondering why I ever turned on the TV or start blaming…
As I walked to the dismissal line at school, Jenn quickly walked right past me with a sour face. She trotted to the car without a word and melted immediately upon entering the van. “What’s wrong? What happened?” I asked. “Ms. Kinsington told us if we weren’t better, she wouldn’t be our teacher anymore!” she…
As a teen I sat through an 8 hour class a couple times one month to get CPR training, understand how to Heimlich Maneuver was performed, and to get basic understanding on how to handle emergencies as a babysitter. In fact, the kids I cared for regularly knew that I had my own bag that…
“How much do babysitters cost these days?” My husband asked when we were about to go on our first date after my oldest was born. “I don’t know. I was paid $20 an hour, but that was for 2 kids. So…” I trailed off. My husband’s boss had a teenage daughter that came over later…
Being negative is contagious. It spreads like wildfire through the family. And it’s not just that old adage about when mama’s not happy, nobody is happy. But when the toddler is throwing a fit or the teenager is sporting an attitude or dad has had a long day, they all contribute to the downhill spiral…
Emma, my 2nd child likes to stomp, scream, and hit when she is mad. Back when she was a so-called threenager, she could be vicious. Now entering more of the pre-teen stages, she and some of my other children have learned to deal with emotions better, but they’re still learning that using force is not…
The teacher sent me a message telling me that Jenn was laying her head on the table and not very eager to please. She was always eager to please. We both knew she was sick. And I knew it was coming… because with kindergarten comes exposure to all kinds of new germs our family hadn’t been…