Every once in a while, after hearing us teach a parenting seminar, a distressed parent will come up and say, "I never knew this information before. Is it too late? I think I've ruined my kids." One parent recently asked that question and I (Scott)...
When the intensity increases and your child loses control it's important to take a Break. With young children, as young as two or three years old, have them sit in a particular place, a chair, a carpet square, the hallway, or a bottom step. For...
Sometimes parents are afraid to be firm with their kids for fear that their kids won't like them or that they'll add too much pressure that their kids can't handle. Unfortunately, many children take advantage of their parents' graciousness and don't reciprocate in a positive...
Some choose Christian schools, and some choose to homeschool, but most Christian kids attend public schools. Here's how you can empower your children to grow in their faith during their public school experience....
The heart is the center of all things. Inside a child’s heart are many things- certain issues they’re holding onto, feelings, things that bring them passion and joy, their experience of closeness or lack thereof to their parents, feelings of guilt or conviction and temptations...
One of the saddest things for parents is sibling conflict. You realize the long-term negative consequences of the fighting, teasing, and bickering between your kids. You want your children to have close relationships as they get older but it seems that they're determined to undermine...
There's a significant difference between punishment and discipline. Punishment gives a negative consequence, but discipline means "to teach." Punishment is negative; discipline is positive. Punishment focuses on past misdeeds. Discipline focuses on future good deeds. Punishment is often motivated by anger. Discipline is motivated by...
Some children have a problem blaming others and not taking responsibility for their part of the problem. In the child's imagination, it's always someone else's fault. These children have the ability to see all kinds of reasons why an offense occurs but can't see their...
Conflict forces young people to wrestle with things in their hearts. Their desires, emotions, and beliefs get intertwined and they often aren’t thinking straight. Conflict also helps teens develop tools for handling differences in life. Three life skills are exercised in every conflict situation: Problem...
Unfortunately, many children don't realize when they've crossed the line from persistence to demandingness. That line is crossed when children value their issue as more important than the relationship. When a child yells at a parent or says unkind things because he doesn't get what...