routines
Independence Day
When is the right age for our children to become “independent”? There’s no clear answer for this, but we hope that it is sometime before the age of 30 (fingers crossed). [...]
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Sometimes Kids Just Need To Hear No
Nobody likes to disappoint their children. It’s hard to turn them down, crush their hopes, or deny them. And it’s particularly hard to deal with their unpleasant reactions [...]
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Doing What Works (And Quitting What Doesn’t)
People have a tendency to think that if something should work, but it doesn’t, that the next step is to then do that thing harder, more often or more intensely. (For example, [...]
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Goals of Misbehaviour Part 4: Inadequacy
This month wraps up our four month series of trying to answer that nagging question, “Why do kids do that?” Having looked at the “goals” of gaining attention, power, [...]
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A Yelling Resolution
I was reading a little poll in an old Today’s Parent magazine. Even though it was from the December 2009 issue, I thought it would be interesting to post the poll and the [...]
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05Feb
Goals Of Misbehaviour Part 2: Power
Last month we began our quest to answer the question, “What are they thinking?!?” (“they”, of course, being our children). Recognizing that no behaviour happens by accident [...]
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30Jan
What Are You Tolerating?
We all have things that we tolerate in our lives. Some of them are big things (like a nasty neighbour), but many of them are small things (a messy desk is an example), and we [...]
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Side-Stepping Power Struggles
“You’re Not The Boss Of Me!” There probably isn’t a parent alive who doesn’t cringe or roll their eyes at the phrase “power struggle”. We’ve all been there – and some of us [...]
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Family Meetings:Your One-Stop Solution For Discipline AND Fun
If you’ve ever had a job, you’ve probably attended a meeting. And although it may seem somewhat unusual to apply this same strategy to “running” your family, family meetings [...]
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Parenting Spirited Kids
Some kids are just a little more than others. More energy, more tantrums, more persistence, more highs and lows…just more. If you’ve got a “spirited” kid in your family, you [...]
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