I used to have more mom-related demands in some areas (diaper changing, mess-clean-up, bathing and feeding kids) and a lot less in others (driving to activities, helping with homework, dealing with moods, emotions, and friend drama). As my mom always says, life doesn’t get easier – it just gets different.
Power of Moms Pick: How to Respond to Your Child’s Hurtful Words
If you are like most moms, you probably know what it’s like to have hurtful words screamed at you by an angry child. In her blog post “How to Respond to Your Child’s Hurtful Words,” blogger Nina Garcia gives nine strategies for responding with respect, love, and confidence.
Book Summary: Stop and Smell Your Children
If you are in the early years of motherhood with little ones at home, this book is for you. The book feels like a conversation with a friend, one who invites you to reflect and examine how you can “stop and smell” your children more.
3 Tools for Moms of Little Kids – Episode 99
In this episode, Saren (mother of five children ages 10-15) talks with Janelle (mother of 5 children ages 1-7) share three concrete (and totally do-able!) coping strategies for dealing with the hard stuff that comes with having small children who are close in age.
Looking for a New Year’s Resolution? Blabber to Babies More
My mother-in-law is the chattiest grandma you have ever met. I’m not really a “baby person” so I don’t naturally start chatting away at them. But I wondered if she was on to something. According to a the most recent issue of the New Yorker, apparently she was.
What Happens When Your Instincts Are Wrong?
So often we use our instincts to respond to the needs of our children. We go with our gut. But what if our gut is wrong? Amanda Hamilton Roos shares her discovery of what really matters when instincts lead you astray.
Favorite Children’s Books from 2013
Looking for some fantastic books to share with your children? There were a number of excellent picture books published in 2013. Catherine Arveseth’s list this year includes some old books, some new-ish, and a bunch that are brand new.
When It’s Okay to Ignore Your Children (Video Included)
We’re all about looking our children in the eye, validating their feelings, and helping them feel important and heard. While I agree that it’s absolutely vital to acknowledge and validate a child’s feelings, I actually think there are times when the best thing you can do for them is to simply ignore them.
Book Summary: Simplicity Parenting
Author Kim John Payne asks if we are building our families on “the four pillars of ‘too much’: too much stuff, too many choices, too much information, and too fast.” Then he discusses four layers of simplification: 1) environment; 2) rhythm; 3) schedules; and 4) filtering out the adult world.
Introduction to August’s Value: Unselfishness and Sensitivity
It takes real effort on the part of parents, and sometimes a long time for children, to realize that the world does not revolve around them. Check out these tried-and-true methods for teaching children to be a bit less selfish.
Introduction to July’s Value: Honesty
This will help small children realize that feelings are caused by what has happened — and that it is okay to feel things and okay to tell others honestly how we feel.
How to Become Less Judgmental in Nine “Easy” Years
As a new mom, I noticed all the little flaws in other people’s parenting because I was unsure of my own skills. But now, nine years into my parenting journey, I’ve learned that, on some days, just getting out of the house with everyone wearing shoes is a victory.