Posted by Carey Nieuwhof | So what do you do when your pre-teen or teen doesn’t want to hang out with you as a parent anymore? That can be a hard question to answer. In fact, while there’s a mountain of advice for parents of infants, often parents of pre-teens and teens can end up…
Courtney DeFeo, author of In This House, We Will Giggle, shares how to teach your kids life-changing virtues by doing anything but lecture them. She encourages parents to instead tap into a kid’s love of play and have some lighthearted family fun. When kids are having fun, they don’t even have to know they…
Several years ago, our team was asked to design a program to help public schools teach kids character. One of the tools we provided was a “Value-able” card to award a child with free ice cream when they did something that demonstrated respect, responsibility, or kindness. We gave out enough cards so teachers could catch…
Posted by Carey Nieuwhof | So you probably think you would be a much better parent if you had more hours in the day, don’t you? Bummer that life doesn’t work that way. When you have another child, it’s not like someone shows up and magically hands you another 4 hours a day. Nope, now…
Time. It’s moving fast. It’s limited. We will never have more of it than we already have. So the issue is not how do we get more, but how do we become more intentional about what we have? How can we manage our time strategically to parent beyond our…
*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on The Washington Post. A large new study out this week contains some alarming data about the state of children’s mental health in the United States, finding that depression in many children appears to start as early as age 11. By the time they hit age 17,…
Posted by Melissa Thorson | There are a few things I could learn from my husband: Curbs are not meant for driving over. Listening to science podcasts is more educational than watching Real Housewives of Orange County. Speak less, and once you do choose to speak up, people listen. Quality over efficiency is more important…
Today, as we were listening to the sermon at church, my 6-year-old son heard the speaker say the word “sin.” I whispered in his ear and asked him if he knew what sin was. Now we’ve had many discussions about the basics of the gospel, including sin, but I wanted to hear his thoughts on…
*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on PsychCentral. Emerging research suggests that even in low amounts, interruptions to parent-child time caused by digital technology are associated with child behavior problems. The study was a snapshot review of the connection between parents’ technology use and child behavior. As such, a…
Steve Argue, assistant professor of youth, family, and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, an applied research strategist with the Fuller Youth Institute, and dad of 3 girls, talks with us about how to parent an emerging adult, those between the ages of 18-30. The age when most young adults are experiencing unprecedented freedom and pressure….