the Mudroom

There is nothing I've recommended that seems to get people's backs up like my recommendation to parents to put limits around space for their children. I'm not suggesting you throw your children in a dungeon and throw away the key, but putting limits around space is actually helpful and a relief for your child - even if they rail against in the beginning. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy...

After 10 years as an early interventionist and now going on 6 years as a mother, I am ALL about reducing stress, so I'm sharing my top tips to reduce the back to school stress for you and your kiddos as we start the school year. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/jJWDDfxLGWk Join the Parenting Posse: prn...

Are you a "yeller"? Does it feel like yelling is the ONLY way your kids sit up and listen? Yelling can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if used incorrectly and create more problems than it solves. In this back episode from June we discuss yelling as a parenting technique. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: prnt.link/yel...

Why focus on these tools with toddlers and preschoolers? It all comes down to energy. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/h9hcS0n_EPE Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Tuesday at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT/ 6pm PT on Facebook: facebook.com/arfamilyservices

Does the fact that your child lies mean that you're raising a dishonest little sh*t? Why do they lie when they know you know the truth?! Even when you SAW them do it? In this episode, we discuss why young children lie and how to respond when they do. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/h53jBYGF2e4 Join th...

You're scared of talking about *sex* with your kids?! Join the club. Here's how to make it not so scary and 💣 like. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/M_6uGbqaFFg Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Tuesday at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT/ 6pm PT on Facebook: facebook.com/arfa...

A colleague recently asked me if I could only teach you 4 things- what would they be? It took me a lot of mulling to figure it out, but I finally did.

Let's unpack "Boys will be boys" and the damage it does to all children. Join us Thursday for our Misbehaviour-Proof class: prnt.link/register Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: https://youtu.be/mPD1tTGFx8c Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Tuesday at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT/ 6pm PT on F...

By now I'm sure you're aware that there are a lot of social justice issues popping up around the world. As millennials, we are gradually becoming responsible for governance in all areas of that process. As we work to restore respect and equality we need to pay close to not only the intellectual knowledge and values that we are consciously imparting but also to teaching our children the skills to a...

We hear it every time we fly - "Put your own oxygen mask on first." While this is great advice if your plane runs into trouble, it's also a great guideline to follow if you want to practice calm parenting with your kids. Because when we get hyperaroused, our kids tend to get hyperaroused, and that is where the challenges begin. We need to find things we can do daily to reduce stress in our lives....

Have you ever felt like "upgrading" your parenting skills is worthless? That your kids are just going to turn out to be who they are no matter how you parent them? I think we've all been there but there's a new study that refutes that empirically. Study referenced: https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567 Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the v...

Does it ever feel like you try all these parenting suggestions- from Pinterest articles, Facebook groups, and HERE!...and none of them work? In fact- does it feel like they actually make things worse? Well, there's a reason for that. If you've ever tried a suggestion I've made on the MudRoom and thought I'm full of shit- this episode is for you. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making B...

Does the concept that your toddler or preschooler is stressed...stress you out? What does a 3/4 year old have to be stressed about anyways?! Well, stress is NOT just worry. In this episode we'll be discussing the concept of stress and how it may be effecting your kids. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: prnt.link/whatexa...

Are you TOO comfortable? Having a comfort with discomfort is vital to our children's (and our!) success in life. Learning to take calculated risks is important. Here's why. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: http://prnt.link/comfortwithdiscomfort Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live ever...

If the idea of sending your child outside to play without you completely freaks you out- then please, listen here. We're talking about why playing outside is necessary for healthy child development. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: http://prnt.link/outdoorplay Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is re...

You know the benefits of allowing your child space and time to roam and play unsupervised but when it comes to DOING it....uh...that's freaking terrifying. Let's talk about the PING GPS and how it's helped me let go with confidence. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: prnt.link/ping Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/gro...

For a change of pace we had Meg Flanagan of MilKids Ed as a guest to discuss how to foster a positive relationship with your children's teachers. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: prnt.link/meg Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Tuesday at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT/ 6pm PT on Facebook: fac...

Have you been using the Logical Consequence process for a while now and are starting to feel like I'm totally full of shit and this is NOT WORKING? ...Well, you're not wrong. Natural and Logical Consequences are limited. They're the short game. We need to talk about what the long game is. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording her...

We expect a lot out of little children- and never is that more apparent than our expectation that they remember EVERYTHING they're told off the top of their head with no support. A standard that we don't even hold ourselves to. The solution? Visuals. Get your free daily routine visual schedule: http://prnt.link/visualsupgrade Watch the video recording here: http://prnt.link/visuals Join the Parent...

When it comes to parenting generally the rule of "pick two" applies. But there is ONE thing ANYONE can do that will dramatically improve their child's behaviour no matter what parenting style or technique you're using. That is consistency. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: http://prnt.link/consistency Join the Parenting...

Why are four-year-olds so damn DRAMATIC?! They're moody, whiney, helpless, and generally just unpleasant to be around. They aren't babies anymore- aren't they supposed to be getting easier?! There's a very good reason that your 4 is driving you up the wall. So let's look under the hood and see what's going on. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch t...

Development is on a Continuum- so are some parents using tactics (*cough crowdsourcing cough* ) that aren't serving them to figure out their child's development? What can we do instead? Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: https://www.facebook.com/arfamilyservices/videos/320364448559870/ Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link...

What if your child isn't defiant, what if they just don't know how to do what you're asking them to do? I don't mean physically don't know- I mean mentally. What if it's just a matter of weak executive skills? Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: http://prnt.link/defiance Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudro...

Never let anyone tell you that you don't know what is best for your child. On this episode we talk about how to claim your status as the expert on your own kid. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: http://prnt.link/expert Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Tuesday at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT...

Worried about your preschooler's preoccupation with war, weapon, and superhero play? It seems to go against every feminist, pacifist bone in our bodies to allow violent fantasy play- but this style of play is actually incredibly beneficial to both boys and girls. We talk about the reseach in this episode. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the vi...