Suffering from parental boredom? Sometimes playing with kids get tiresome. Here are tips when you're bored playing with your kids. On many days, I'm on top of my parenting game. I read with the kids, make a few crafts, and encourage them to help me cook in the kitchen. On those days, I'm an A+ mom. But then I have the other days. The days when being a parent can get, admittedly... boring. These are the days when I can only take so much of fiddling with a puzzle over and over and watching them play with crayons and dominoes. Days like these, I'm ready to either conk out with exhaustion … [Read more...]

Should children attend funerals? Ask yourself these 5 questions when deciding whether to take your child to a funeral service. "Do we bring them to the funeral?" I asked my husband. My aunt had just passed away, and my relatives and I were making plans to attend services to honor her life. No gut feelings swayed me either way on whether to bring the boys to the wake or ceremony. No clear rules or AAP-recommended guidelines or expert advice made it certain whether to bring young children to a funeral or not. And I can see why. A funeral is an emotional event, and with so many … [Read more...]

Want to stop getting angry and reacting to your children's behavior? Learn how to be a mindful parent with these mindful parenting tips. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission—at no extra cost to you—if you make a purchase. Have you ever held three conversations with your kids at the same time, one for each child? It might go something like this: To child one: "Ooh, look at the superhero you drew..." To child two: "Hmm, I don't think I've seen a circle or square kite, but yeah I'm pretty sure they exist..." Then to child three, who … [Read more...]

Want a close relationship with your child? Learn these principles of effective parenting that will help you discipline and enjoy parenthood. On this blog, I write about several topics, from how-to steps to insightful discussions. We talk about ways to get your kids to listen or helping your child recognize letters and numbers. We discuss why motherhood is hard or the biggest reason you should have a life outside of kids. But within all these topics are effective parenting advice and tips, regardless of the topic discussed. If you asked me about guidelines to my parenting … [Read more...]

We all have bad parenting habits we need to break. See if you can relate to these habits that are easy to fall into—and how to avoid them. "Gotta stop doing that." I've said this so many times to myself. I know what I "should" be doing as a parent, but I sometimes keep repeating the same bad parenting habits I mean to break. You know they're pretty bad not so much because its consequences are dire, but because you keep telling yourself over and over not to do them anymore. It doesn't help when your fellow moms and peers seem to avoid these frustrations with no problem. And while … [Read more...]

Learn the warning signs of raising narcissistic children as well as tips on how to avoid a self-centric generation. "Look at me—I'm unique!" said one of the kids' picture books, whose topic is all about liking oneself. This normally wouldn't catch my attention, except I started to wonder whether extreme praise can lead to narcissism. Now, building self-worth isn't the same as promoting narcissism, nor should we raise kids to be "people pleasers." They should be reminded how one-of-a-kind they are in this world, and the special talents only they can deliver. We also want to boost their … [Read more...]

It's hard on everyone when we lose our tempers. See if you can relate to these unfair reasons we get mad at kids, and how to stop. I've regretted the times I've lost my temper with my kids, but more so when I yelled for unfair reasons. What do I mean by "unfair"? Of course, at the end of the day, angry outbursts aren't justified regardless of reason. But it's even more heartbreaking when we take our frustration out on our kids when they had little to do with what we're angry about. Think back to recent episodes when you yelled at your kids. Maybe they were making a ruckus right … [Read more...]