Being there for your kids

Raising your kids is the toughest job for which most parents are not prepared to do. Balancing the endless demands of childhood with the rest of your live is quite a challenge. Learning to delegate to your "village" and finding "me-time" in the mayhem, gives you the balance to take care of yourself and your kids. In Matthew 22:29, Jesus calls the second greatest commandment to "love one another as...

Do we want power or relationship with our kids? When you come off as dominant, my way or the highway, you parent by fear, not by relationship. When you are too submissive and buddy buddy, you do so much for your child that they never learn how to do for themselves. As a benevolent despot, you have the earned authority of relationship, without having to use raw power, you direct the family accordin...

Family meetings can be a great way to get everyone involved, and invested in, planning things the family does together. It could be the mundane, like dividing up a chore list, or the exciting, like planning a family vacation. As parents use active listening, productive confronting, and a big dose of pride and encouragement, everybody contributes and each comes away with something that works for th...

Children notice not only what we say but also how we say it. Verbal and nonverbal go together. When they need confrontation, challenge the behavior, not the child. When they need active listening and empathy, avoid the common errors of judging, criticizing, and offering solutions. Help your child become responsible for their words and actions and help them find solutions that are workable and that...

It's not a maybe. It's not just bad kids. It's an imperative. All children will test the limits every chance they get. Why? to be sure the limit is in place. When children are in charge, that is, when there are no limits on their behavior, the result is excessive fear and anxiety. Do you want your child calm and collected? Give them limits on their behavior.

When we take a foreign language in school, we can spend years studying it and still not be fluent. That's because we are not immersed in the language and we have to think before we speak. Active listening, for parents, is kind of a foreign language. It's a way to help kids come to terms with their feelings and then joining with them to help them solve their own problems. While solving our kids' pr...

When depression is organic or genetic, treatment may require medication. When depression is situational or reactive, you can beat it with these two simple tools.

How often do you get to savor the moment? Most folks talk about how angelic their child looks when he is sleeping. Wouldn’t you also like to savor the moment when he is awake. Mindful parenting puts you in a place to do just that.

Every teen (and actually, all of us) deals with the impact of hormones. The mood changes, attitude, and body changes all take their toll. Instead of thinking of hormones as a bad thing, let’s call them power surges, and consider them as preparation for greater things in life. Helping your teen navigate through these power surges will ease stress and create teachable moments for them.

As parents, our ultimate goal is to launch our teens as independent, responsible, socially-conscious persons into adulthood. This podcast gives you a glimpse into the trials, tribulations, joys, blessings of a launch well done.

We all are born with a sign around our necks. What it becomes over time is a function of how we are treated by those who love us. What’s the sign around your child’s neck?

As a positive reframe, let’s call hormones an “energy surge.”  We can’t avoind them, so, what to do with them?

When helping with character development, The Good Kid Chart gets your child excited about making substantive behavioral changes.

Breathing comes naturally, but we don’t think of taking a deeper breath when you want to manage stress. My “Chillin’ Out” resource on my website, www. THEREFORMYKIDS.com takes you through the steps to manage your stress in the moment, clear your mind, and get back to task renewed and refreshed.

When you correct your child with grace, even a mess-up can become a teachable moment that builds the relationship, rather than break it down.

Getting your child to bed can be exhausting. If you establish a workable routine, with boundaries, and stick with it, bedtime can become a calming, teachable moment.

Your children benefit when you are neither too strict nor too lenient, but rather, just right in your parenting. Promoting teachable moments, along with healthy boundaries, active listening, and engaging problem-solving, will make your parenting just right.

Self-care is equally important to other care. When you balance the two, you and your child are ready for teachable moments.

9 points to effective Christian parenting.

Do you give yourself “Me Time” during the day? Dr. Jon Robinson offers suggestions on how to do that.

What is an “Emotional Fever?” Dr. Jon Robinson explains in this episode of Teachable Moments.