Parenting

Review and Giveaway: Total Transformation

4.2.11

The Total Transformation program, created by behavioral therapist James Lehman, teaches you simple techniques you can use to help your child solve his or her problems without resorting to disrespectful, abusive behavior.

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11 Things In 2011

12.13.10

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

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Children Are Tyrants – That’s Nothing New.

11.5.10

It’s natural (and even desirable in some sense) for children to act out and push their boundaries. They are finding themselves and growing every minute of every day. It’s our job as parents to give them a safe space and some autonomy – instead of reacting and reverting to tyrants ourselves by yelling and trying to control their every move.

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Halloween. And My Bubble.

11.4.10

Halloween was a blur this year. As the kids get older, they need me less. This is good, but it makes me feel a little less involved, as if events are speeding by. I did get some quality time with Logan when I took him and a friend on a haunted hay ride, which – WOW – So Much Fun.

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My Mom Strengths

10.8.10

When I read Know Your Strengths, from The Happiest Mom, I realized (again) how much I focus on the negative. I have the perception that the things I am good at (in parenting that is), everyone is good at, while the things I am bad at, everyone else is still good at. Not exactly reality.

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Don’t Always Take The Easy Way Out

8.20.10

I’ll never be a hard-ass parent. I’ll never be the type to get up every day at the same time and follow the same routine. I don’t want to be that person. I do want to get better at seeing things through and providing an example for my kids.

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Siblings And Family Time

8.19.10

I’d like our after-dinner time to be a scene out a 50′s sitcom, where we all talk and laugh and play together. I realize that’s not going to happen, but I’m sure we can make it better than it is now. What’s your advice? What’s your family-time routine?

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7 Good Things To Do With A Dollar

7.28.10

A couple weeks ago I participated in 77kids Do Good Day with some awesome Jersey bloggers. As a follow-up to that event, I wanted to pass on “7 good things to do with a dollar” that you might share with your kids.

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Christmas In July… And Every Other Month

7.15.10

My daughter is obsessed with Santa. And not in the “I can’t wait for Santa to come!” sense, but in the “Do you believe in Santa?” sense. She asks almost everyone she meets if they believe. It’s basically her second question after “What’s your name?”

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Everything I Need to Know About Economics I Learned Playing Age of Empires III

6.23.10

Video games have come a long way since Space Invaders and Asteroids. And while vile, cop-killing, Grand Theft Auto-style games capture the headlines, hundreds of other games that don’t grab headlines would be labeled educational if they simply weren’t so much fun to play. Parents need to rethink their perception of video games and stop lumping everything on a computer or console as a wasteful diversion away from productive, educational activities. It may be time to recognize that some video games are both productive and educational and it’s their extra element of fun that makes the learning process so effortless.

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Stepping Back

6.5.10

My number one goal right now is to be a better role model for my kids. Part of that means being a better me, and part of it means letting go of some things that simply didn’t add much to any of our lives. So the blogging mojo? I actually feel it coming back now that I’ve let go of the pressure on myself. For the time being, I think I just might have found the elusive balance.

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I Love You, Girl

5.6.10

When I graduated from college, all my friends scattered. I moved to another state and spent most of my time with my boyfriend/fiance/husband for the next few years. I had drinking buddies from work and couples friends, but I didn’t have a close girlfriend again until I became a mother.

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The Case For Technology

4.17.10

Yes, TV, video games and the internet can be time-sucking, mind-numbing and addictive if you choose to use them that way. But they can also be engaging, social, motivating, and educational. I believe we need to stop blaming technology for family disconnect and learn how to use it effectively to connect the family.

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Growing As a Parent: Revisit the Past

4.3.10

Last week, I went through my old blog, PHAT Mommy, and pulled out the posts I wanted to import into this blog. I wanted to choose the most important posts that told the story of my life over my past 5 years of blogging. What I thought would be blog maintenance “busy work” turned out to be a very enlightening experience.

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Mom-Improvement Monday

3.29.10

Welcome to “Mom-Improvement Monday.” Each week I’ll be highlighting my favorite blog posts that inspire us to be the parents we want our kids to become.

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Routine and Responsibility: Musings

1.23.10

While I know where I stand on my schooling philosophy, the “responsibility and routine” theme of our conversation kept haunting me. My kids have responsibilities (that don’t involve specific schoolwork), but they don’t have a routine.

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My #1 Parenting Tip: Shut Up!

1.16.10

Yelling has never gotten me anywhere in my parenting. Talking to my kids, reasoning (don’t you see that this behavior only gets you in trouble?), and negotiating has not solved one problem. Ever. What has gotten results?

Shutting the hell up.

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