In fact, each of the Extremely Good Parenting Episodes also has an accompanying blog post.
I was once told that I would really value my strong willed kids one day, but that it would be hard raising them. But at the time I didn’t realize that strong willed and defiant were not the same thing, even if it was a fine line. I had to come to the conclusion on […]
Listening to Jenn, my 5-year-old, I hear her uninhibited enthusiasm each afternoon. She always gives a play-by-play and I am taken on a roller coaster of emotions as she tells the story of her day. Her soft blue eyes grow wide as she talks about big emotions, obstacles overcome, and the shocking scandals only kindergarteners […]
In 2011, I started shifting away from negative language in my high school classroom to a more positive beat. It’s part of what I studied and researched throughout college. Even so, to my astonishment, I started seeing results almost immediately. As if I was holding some sort of magical potion, these teenagers started behaving differently […]
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 parent and child. It’s easy to feel like we’re grasping at straws to find a logical […]
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. […]
