Search Results for: blog how often do you yell at your kids

The Hazards of Distracted Parenting

Posted on by

Humans can become distracted every now and again. Parents are only human and cannot be hyper focused on their children every second. There is a difference from a moment of distraction and a pattern of it. Be aware of the hazards of distracted parenting. It has become common for people to spend time looking at the screens of their smartphones while they are outside. Some people are recording video, and taking photos, to preserve memories. Smartphones make it easy to share a fun trip to the zoo with a grandmother who lives far away. That scenario can be fun way … Continue reading →

Should Both Parents Tend to the Baby at Night?

Posted on by

Whose job is it to get up in the middle of the night to tend to a crying infant? There was a time when the automatic assumption was that this task was entirely for the mother. Today, there are plenty of parents who realize that there are good reasons to share this responsibility. Babies are incredibly cute. They can also be exhausting. Many babies simply refuse to sleep through the night. They loudly let their parents know that they need a diaper change or want to be fed. At least one parent needs to get up to tend to the … Continue reading →

Shameless Savings

I love to shop.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to support this passion.  Consequently, I’m often put in a situation that’s all too familiar to parents:  kicking pride to the curb. Admit it; you’ve done some pretty gross things since becoming a parent.  Goodness knows I have learned to exercise an immeasurable amount of humility since giving birth.  For example, I never thought I would willingly stretch out my hands to catch another person’s vomit.  Ditto for plucking poop out of the tub with my bare hands.  I also never imagined I’d allow my shirt to be used as … Continue reading →

Organize Your Stockpile by Becoming a Shelf Life Expert

I’m always on the look out for good stock up opportunities. When something goes on sale, can be “purchased” for free with coupons, or is on a deep clearance, I instantly calculate how much of that item should come home with me. It is important to know how much, logically, you should stockpile of a particular item or category of items. For example: how many jars of peanut butter should be in your pantry  right now until the next great low price? How many boxes of pasta, packages of toilet paper or bottles of shampoo? it all depends on the … Continue reading →

Modeling Patience

Patience is a virtue… or so I’ve heard. Delayed gratification has been a huge topic in my family’s home, especially since we flipped the calendar to 2013. Three words: New Year’s resolutions.  Make that six:  Failing to keep New Year’s resolutions… especially the ones that challenge you to delay a reward. That’s us. And by us, I mean me.  Well, me and my 8-year-old.  But, she didn’t resolve to be more patient in 2013.  That was my Christmas wish that she didn’t deliver. Of course, if I listened to the experts, I would have known that resolving to lose weight … Continue reading →

Mastering the Fine Art of Delayed Gratification

My 8-year-old has the patience of… well, an 8-year-old. Actually, on many days her ability to wait without whining or complaining is more on par with a 4-year-old. She’d kill me if she knew I was comparing her to a preschooler.  Then again, I’ll probably die first from having to tolerate her incessant bellyaching each time she is asked to keep her composure while waiting for whatever it is she wants right NOW! And by now, she means the millisecond her request leaves her lips. During my daughter’s last well child check-up I discussed the issue of delayed gratification with … Continue reading →

Yelling is Still Bad

You’ve heard the old joke: If you don’t yell at your kids, then you aren’t spending enough time with them. Well, parenting experts aren’t laughing at that one. Regardless, it isn’t stopping frustrated moms and dads from raising their voices when their kids misbehave. Nine years ago, a study published in The Journal of Marriage and Family, found that 88 percent of nearly 1000 parents interviewed admitted shouting, yelling or screaming at their children in the previous year. That percentage jumped to 98 percent in families with 7-year-old children. Today, that number has barely budged. Recent polls show that parents … Continue reading →

Pick Me Up!

My little guy is at such a fun stage right now, but there are some things that he does that are not so fun. I have a little secret. My baby yells at me! It sounds funny to say it, but it is the best way to describe what he does to let me know he is not happy. Gone are the days when he had a little sweet newborn cry. With a full house with three kids, he has to make sure he gets mama’s attention. I guess that means that sometimes he needs to step it up a … Continue reading →

Does a Messy Home Mean Happier Kids?

Posted on by

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about having a more peaceful home. Not too long ago I wrote about how I am trying to NOT yell at my kids in the article, The Voice of Domestic Peace. Part of working on that goal is working on eliminating stress from my life. There is a direct correlation between stress in my life, and how often I raise my voice at my kids. I want it to stop. Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, there are a lot of things that cause me stress. It is in my genetics to have … Continue reading →

Losing It in Public

Overheard at the zoo last week: Mom to tweenage son: “Knock it off, Caden! We’re not in a video game.” Tweenage boy attempting to trip younger sibling: “You’re going down.” Mom: “Caden! Knock! It! Off!” Boy: “DOWN!” And that’s exactly where the younger sibling went. Flat on his face, courtesy of the tweenage boy, right in front of the polar bear exhibit where my daughter and I happened to be standing. Unfortunately, we had front row seats to the mama drama. And the show was far from over. In fact, it was just beginning. Once the mom saw her younger … Continue reading →