Search Results for: blog encouraging or demanding

Encouraging or Demanding?

So many things in life are divided by a fine line–being aggressive and being assertive, for example. When it comes to parenting, there are countless behaviors and choices we make that can cross that line–authoritative can become pushy and tyrannical; concerned can become obsessively smothering; and encouraging our children can cross over and become demanding and overbearing. So, how do we walk that line and keep our parenting comments helpful and not hurtful? How do we keep our own issues under control so that they don’t seep over onto our children? How do we keep our boundaries in tact? I … Continue reading →

Be Aware of what is Motivating You in Every Interaction

Perhaps it is not always possible to tune in to what is motivating us in every interaction with our children, but I do think that if we can achieve some level of self-awareness: identifying our own emotions, knowing what our triggers are, figuring out what we are trying to make happen, etc. then we will be better able to communicate well and have genuine interactions with our children. Let’s break this down so that it makes sense: Say you walk in and find that your child has gotten into the kitchen cabinets while you were on a phone call to … Continue reading →

God’s Spoilt Children

We’ve probably all met spoilt children. How does a spoilt child act? They are demanding selfish, insisting on their rights and their own way and show little regard for the feelings of others. But what about ‘God’s spoilt children’ as a friend of mine calls them. ‘God’s spoilt children’ who are they? So often I hear from pastors and others in full time ministry about the expectations laid upon them by others. Sadly, I don’t just mean those outside the church who come knocking at the door at all times of the day and night, bringing their needs. Of more … Continue reading →

Do We Really Have to Comment?

Sometimes, I have a hard time with the reality that the best parenting I can do in a given moment is none—I don’t always have to say something, even if it is the briefest of comments. Silence can sometimes be the most effective parenting of all! When my son is lounging in front of the television watching an afternoon of football—I do NOT really need to comment on why he is lounging or wonder aloud at his “laziness.” Neither do I need to comment on hair-dos or the way my kids dress or offer unsolicited advice. I know someone who … Continue reading →

Gasp! My Older Children Help Their Little Siblings

I had no idea that this was a controversial subject in the homeschooling arena. We have survived on encouraging our children to work together. It has allowed me to homeschool all of the children at once. I have even (double gasp) had my oldest child read to my youngest child. Against Working Together In fairness, I shouldn’t quite say that moms are against children working together. What I should say is that there is a section of the home schooling population that feels like it’s unfair to the older children to have to always do things with the littler ones. … Continue reading →

Practicing What I Preach

Like most seasoned parents, I am often full of ideas, suggestions, and parenting advice. To hear me carry on, you would think that there is never anything that happens with my kids that I can’t and don’t handle with aplomb—well, that couldn’t be further from the truth… Recently I was chatting with an old friend of mine whose two children are in their late twenties. I have known this woman since her children were younger than mine are now so we have some shared parenting history! As I was telling her about some of my recent struggles, she started to … Continue reading →

More Miss Malarkey Books – Judy Finchler

We continue our Miss Malarkey series with “Testing Miss Malarkey.” A big test is coming up in school, formerly known as the Instructional Performance Through Understanding test, abbreviated to I.P.T.U, and called, by the children, the “I Pity You” test. Miss Malarkey seems nervous about it and has been working hard to prepare the children to do well on it. She says THE TEST (she always refers to it in capital letters) isn’t that important, and that it won’t go on the report cards, but why does she chew her fingernails whenever she talks about it? She’s been cramming as … Continue reading →

Christmas Cheerio

Well, it’s one year since I began blogging on Mental Health here at Families. Where has the year gone? 2006 has certainly been a speedy, fast-paced year with its share of happiness and heartache alike. I have certainly enjoyed my stint here writing on what is one of my passions in life: mental health. We’ve covered many areas in the blog to date: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the raft of anxiety disorders, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Phobia to name a few. We’ve also looked at developmental disorders such as Autism and Asperger’s Disorder. But … Continue reading →