Search Results for: blog learning from our ouch moments

When Your Intentions Are Misunderstood

Have your intentions ever been misunderstood? You think you are going about something the right way and suddenly it comes back to slap you in your face. Well that is what happened to me this week. But I have to first preface this with a little background. I have the most amazing children, I really do. I am so proud of them and I feel so blessed that despite them being 17, almost 14 and 12, I have had minimal problems with them. However there is always that one child that if anything, keeps life interesting. For our family it … Continue reading →

Privacy vs. Secrecy: How to Foster Intimacy in Your Relationships

Information really is power; how, what, and when to share can have a far-reaching impact on our ability to foster intimacy in our relationships. It is almost a rite of passage, for instance, for a new couple to explore one another’s past—first loves, first kisses, and even the first big heartbreak. These conversations both require and build a significant level of trust, as they reveal how we act and react at our most vulnerable moments. So what does it mean when your partner refuses to share? It can mean many things; the problem, of course, is that we often assume … Continue reading →

Spending Time With Your Teen

I don’t know if other parents feel the same way but as our children get older and become teens, it tends to become more difficult to spend quality time with them. It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with them. It’s just that life keeps us busy and my children are in this stage where their friends are their main priority. So as a parent I have tried really hard to make sure that we spend quality time together. I think as the parent of a teen you have to be willing to enter their world. When they … Continue reading →

Learning from Our “Ouch” Moments

Ever have one of those “ouch” moments as a parent? You know what I’m talking about, one of those moments as a parent where you have made a mistake and you think to yourself, “Ouch that really hurts.” It hurts because most parents like to believe they know what they are doing. We are supposed to have it all together, aren’t we? Yet the reality is that we don’t always know what we are doing and sometimes we really don’t have it all together. This week I experienced an “ouch” moment. With my middle school son joining football this year, … Continue reading →

Umbrellas and Parrots to Help Play Protect our Children. Thanks Mary Poppins.

I’m back and how I have missed my friends at families.com. However, my recent Protective Play tour to Maryborough was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I was guest speaker at the breakfast launch of Sexual Violence Awareness month and facilitated a four-hour training in the BITSS model of Protective Behaviors. Twenty-one social science professionals attended the training and we played with everyday toys and household items in an effort to discover novel ways to instill protective behavior teachable moments into families’ homes. Of most interest to me was the revisit of the umbrella as a protective play tool. Umbrellas are useful for protection from … Continue reading →

Missed Opportunity

Ever feel like kicking yourself?  I had one of those moments yesterday…when I did the very thing I strive to not do, especially in light of the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  I missed an opportunity to talk. It was one of those “life happens” deals.  Picked up the kids from school and was running short on time because I had just an hour to work, dinner to make and a funeral to attend. My 15-year-old daughter wanted to talk and it wasn’t just chitchat.  She wanted me to come into her bedroom and close the door.  That … Continue reading →

A Special 4th of July

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I just love grilling out and spending the day with family and friends. But my favorite part is the fireworks. I was so glad when our local park decided to still have them, even though we have been experiencing a drought. Along with all of the normal fun with the 4th of July, this year was extra special for all of us. Anything patriotic tends to stir our hearts because of the fact that my oldest son is getting ready to leave for the Air Force. We proudly displayed the new Air … Continue reading →

Truthful Parenting

This week I sat down to talk to a mother of three, whose children are now grown (two are married). Whenever I need some great advice, I always turn to her. Her experiences and the way I see how her children have turned out are really inspiring to me. While I had several things on my mind, one of them in particular was concerning a parenting decision that my husband and I had made. It was one of those decisions where you ended up with a lack of peace. Deep down inside it has been eating away at me, the … Continue reading →

Finger Pointing at Other Parents

Here is something I have found easy to do…judge other people’s kids. It is easy for me to sit back and think to myself, “Well, at least my child has never done such-and-such.” Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I think my children are perfect and can do no wrong. On a daily basis it seems that someone is always doing something “wrong” (or at the very least something that is challenging). But I guess what I am discovering about myself is that at no point can you ever assume your child won’t do something. Now for the sheer … Continue reading →

Mixed Feelings on First Day of School

Last week I had to register my children for school. I have such mixed feelings about the first day of school. I have some sadness in knowing that it’s the last year of high school for my oldest and the first year of high school for my daughter. But at the same time I am excited about what is to come. My daughter continues to have reluctant feelings about the whole thing. Her attitude hasn’t been the most positive but I have a good feeling about everything. I really do believe she is going to enjoy her high school…but I … Continue reading →