My dad was a strong disciplinarian with his kids and I... well, I suck. When I was a kid, you didn’t mess with my dad. Me?... whatever; I’ll take it. With my dad you knew your place – you were a child and he was the adult. He had three kids who were continually praised for being very well … [Read more...]
Are Your Parents Proud of You?
I have had more graduations than anyone I’ve ever met, and how does someone achieve this? By making a lot of bad life choices: (announcer) Do you want a great way to pay a ton of money for the privilege of doing endless hours of homework? (me) “Will I be able to make less money than my friends when … [Read more...]
How Christian Parents Should Talk to Their Kids about Sex
Please note: A practical list of tips can be found at the end of this post Sex, there’s a topic parents want to avoid talking about to their kids... unless they’re those creepy parents who are way too open about it. Talking to your kids about sex should be a bit awkward because who wants to … [Read more...]
Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Parenting Books (& why my parents were great parents)
A few years ago I was talking with a child therapist who had been in practice for twenty five years, but she didn’t have her own kids until she had been in it for fifteen years. What she said confirmed what I had long expected: “Everything I taught was from the books I was given at school, and … [Read more...]
Parenting Tips from Someone who Shouldn’t be Giving Parenting Tips
What’s an easy way to tick off a parent? Tell them how to parent, so... happy Mother’s Day. I’m going to give some parenting advice. After all, I am the parent of a 6 week old, so I clearly know what it takes to be a parent. Sarcasm aside (weird, right?), as a therapist who works with parents I … [Read more...]
How to be the Perfect Parent
Today I feel like ticking a few people off, so I’m going to do the thing every parent hates: Be someone without kids telling you how to be the perfect parent. Sure I have no practical experience as a parent, but why should that stop me from handing out my brilliant ideas. On the plus side, … [Read more...]
Parenting Today is Harder than Ever Before
Parents today have a problem that hasn’t been an issue before: Kids like themselves... too much. When I grew up there were always a few braggers and bullies, but a lot of this was still the result of kids and teens trying to feel better about themselves. Trying to feel better about ourselves was … [Read more...]
Are you a parent or partner?
It is apparent that parents are not being parents but rather partners while, at the same time, parents are being more like parents to their partners instead of partnering, and apparently I like tongue twisters. In case this first sentence was too confusing... I should’ve erased it, but I’m way … [Read more...]