Tag Archives: confidence

Boost Your Single Parent Confidence

As single parents, sometimes we can be our own toughest critics—we may carry around some insecurities and wounds that make it hard for us to feel good about ourselves as parents. Or we may have internalized some of society’s stigma about being a single parent. Even if we’ve chosen our role and taken an active responsibility for building our families, we might still be feeling a lack of confidence in our abilities and our “right” to parent our child as we see fit. Instead of expecting the rest of the world to grant us that confidence, we have to find … Continue reading →

Child Sized Vs. Full Sized–Which is Better?

In our family, we have the joke about the Easy Bake Oven. As background, we are a family where cooking and food preparation takes center stage. My kids have grown up in the kitchen and they are all three quite able to make an omelete or bake a cake and have been helping me out in their little aprons since they were toddlers. When my eldest daughter was elementary-school age, she so badly wanted an Easy Bake Oven and received one as a gift for Christmas from a grandparent. She used it once and when she saw how tiny the … Continue reading →

When Your Child is Teased

Teasing is supposed to be fun, right? At least that is what my mother taught us when we were growing up. She had two pat statements. One was “teasing is supposed to be fun” and the other was “if no one is laughing is not funny.” This was her response when we would try to excuse our mean-spirited behavior or things we said to others by saying: “It was a joke!” Still, sometimes our children have friends or peers who take teasing a little too far–or our child is especially sensitive–and teasing becomes a problem. I’m differentiating teasing from bullying–where … Continue reading →

Keep an Eye Out for the “Buts”

“My child is a really great kid, but…”; “I love the way you straightened your room, but…”; “You did a good job on this school project, but…” Adding in that one little word when it comes to communicating with and about your kids can mean the difference between a great, supportive relationship and one that undermines your child’s self-confidence and creates problems. It is amazing how the slightest and tiniest of words can be so powerful. “But” is just one of those words (“if only” and “don’t you thin?” are other troublesome phrases.) When we tag that on to things … Continue reading →

“I Know You Can Handle This!”

My first maternal instinct is often to jump in and save the day. I know I’m not alone. We want to protect and nurture our children and keep them safe and successful. How can we train ourselves to NOT jump in with our Wonder Parent cape flying behind us and let our child know that we truly believe he or she can handle some of the tough stuff on their own? I have a line I tell my children—that is really as much for me as it is for them. I will tell them: “I have complete confidence in your … Continue reading →

Act Like the Boss

I am not by nature the slightest bit interested in being the boss of anyone. That is one of the things that draws me to the type of work I do and the way I do it—I don’t want to have to tell anyone else what to do and I don’t particularly like it when someone tells me what to do! BUT, as we go about the running and operating of our home businesses, we do need to remind ourselves that we ARE the boss—there are plenty of times when we need to act like the one who is in … Continue reading →

Learning to Like the Parent You Are

When I sit and talk with my other parent friends, I find that one thing we all seem to have in common is that we are so incredibly hard on ourselves as parents. Despite all the good intentions and our best efforts, it comes through that we are not usually very happy or content with the parents we have turned out to be. I know that I am definitely in this club and had much higher expectations for myself when I set out on this path to parenthood. I would like to propose that we find a way to lighten … Continue reading →

Are You Really an Expert on Your Own Child?

With all the self-help, parenting, and expert advisors out there, it can be challenging for a parent to know where to turn. I think we often turn to official “experts” when what we really need to do is dig in and realize that WE should be the experts on our own child… The truth is, no one knows your child as well as you do. Or at least, that is how it should be and if you are a caring, involved, attentive parent—that is likely the way it is. Since parenting is such an inexact science and not a one … Continue reading →

Sometimes We Have to Let Things Happen

I puzzled and mulled over what to title this blog and all I could come up with was that sometimes, as parents, we have to allow things to happen to and for our children without interfering. This doesn’t mean that we let them burn their hand on the stove in order to learn that it is hot and will hurt them, nor does it mean that we let them get hit by a car in order to learn to stay out of the road. BUT, there are times, when the best thing we can do as caring parents is to … Continue reading →

Modeling Resiliency

Resiliency seems to be the quality that is the best indication of how happy and and “well-adjusted” our kids turn out to be–not education, or advantages or how early they meet all the developmental milestones. While some people just seem to be more resilient than others, I believe there are things we can do to help foster resiliency in our kids–and it starts with developing resiliency in ourselves as parents. I tell my kids that life isn’t about what happens–whether it’s to you or around you, it’s really about how you react. But talking is only one piece of the … Continue reading →