Tag Archives: parenting tips

Resisting the Urge to Interfere

All last week my 14-year-old daughter was at camp, about 3 hours away from home. It was all middle school kids who were told to not bring their cell phones. Since I was in North Carolina, I missed that information at a parent meeting. So the next morning when I dropped her off at church, she mentioned her phone was low on battery but that she couldn’t bring the charger because she wasn’t supposed to really have it. Yes, just minutes before she is leaving. I didn’t make too much of it and said my goodbyes. It was hard having … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Excited Insomnia

It’s pretty much guaranteed that I will wake up at some point in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. At first I regularly awoke at five o’clock in the morning. As the baby grows my nightly bathroom break has moved more regularly to three o’clock in morning. Largely this regular occurrence rarely disrupts my sleep too much. Last night, however, after my early morning bladder relief I could not get back to sleep. I was experiencing a slight case of insomnia. I tried and I tried to doze back off to sleep for two hours. Finally, at … Continue reading →

Child Support

Collecting child support every month can be a hassle. Many choose to go through the Office of Recovery Services or other child support agencies to avoid such conflicts. They simply pay the money to the agency and it goes directly into the other parent’s account. But what happens when one parent decides to stop paying? If they are still currently employed and you are going through the ORS they can garnish the money out of their paychecks, they can also take money out of their tax return if they aren’t current in their obligations. Things tend to get a little … Continue reading →

Focus on the Actions That You Wish To See

I went to another parenting seminar tonight, courtesy of our preschool. We had another fabulous speaker, and I wanted to share some of his focus with you. When your preschooler hits another child, or when your preschooler forgets to pick up her toys or tracks dirt through the house for the umpteenth time, what do you do? Grumble inwardly? Check. Grumble outwardly? Likely. Send your child for a time out or other form of discipline? Quite possibly. When your preschooler shares with another child, or when your preschooler is kind and shows concern over another child’s injury, what do you … Continue reading →

How Young Is Too Young for Make-Up?

My preschool daughter isn’t much for primping. I’m lucky if we get out of the house with her teeth brushed and her hair combed, minus a major meltdown and my stock lecture on the importance of personal hygiene. However, during a recent trip to Wal-Mart my observant 4-year-old spied a unique sight: A little girl getting a pedicure. (All Wal-Mart’s come with in-house Korean nail salons, right?) “Mommy!” she exclaimed while violently tugging on my coat pocket. “That little girl is getting her toes painted!” I must admit I was a bit taken aback by the sight of what looked … Continue reading →

How Do You Know if They Are Too Crabby for Public?

You’ve started out the door on an outing or an errand—you absolutely have to get to the store, the library, the bank, and the school. Your child has had a nap, even though she was a bit on the cranky side earlier in the morning. Once she gets in the car, though, she starts whining and complaining—should you abort the mission? What if she throws a fit on line at the library? Should you push on? How do you know if your child is just too crabby for public? Well, how much can you handle and how much should everyone … Continue reading →

What Worked Before Might Not Work Now

If you are new to single parenthood, but have been a parent for a while, you might be surprised to find that the way you USED to do things doesn’t exactly work any more. It can be a bit disconcerting to find that life has changed so much that the old ways just don’t’ work any longer. I have found that my role as a parent changed with single parenthood. Since I started out married and partnered, we both tended to “specialize” when it came to parenting and adult tasks–I didn’t have to do it all and there was someone … Continue reading →

Don’t Let Yourself Be Manipulated

So, we know that we are supposed to be consistent and firm as parents, but what does that really mean when we’re down in the trenches, trying to fend off the very persistent efforts of a determined child? We can be consistent and still be getting trampled over by our kids (consistently)! One thing to remember is that we are definitely NOT helping our children when we let them manipulate us in order to get what they want. Okay, so what does this mean? How much harm can be done if a child learns that whining gets him a cookie … Continue reading →

Parenting Bag of Tricks

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When Tyler was younger, I often used distraction as a way to squelch a tantrum or to stop the tears when he was tired and cranky. As he got older, I did not use this method as much if at all. I figured he could “use his words” instead of crying. The past few weeks I have used two of my old tricks to stop unwanted behavior and both have worked surprisingly well. The first is distraction, which I already mentioned. I have also found that talking in a soft, quiet voice is equally effective. When Tyler was younger, I … Continue reading →

One Key to Effective Parenting…Planning

I know in my brain that there is not just ONE magic key to being a fabulous parent. As a matter of fact, most of the time I feel like anything but a fabulous parent—instead, I feel more like I’m bumbling along, flying by the seat of my pants and praying for support. But, I do think that one way to deal with many of the curve balls parenting and family life throw our way is…planning. Planning for the inevitable, planning for everything that might go right and might go wrong, planning for rainy days and sick days and all … Continue reading →