Being there for your kids

How DoYou Make or Find Quality Family Time with Your Kids?

In today's busy, non-stop, electronic world, how much time do you think you actually have with your kids and as a family? Thinking about and applying the categories of quality family time will promote family gathering and interacting, despite all the obstacles that could get in the way. Here are some thoughts.

Are You and Your Child on the Same Page?

Kids are all over the place. Keeping up with them is a hassle. Teaching and molding them is an even greater task. Here I offer two keys to "training them up in the ways of the Lord, so that, when they grow old, they will not depart from him." (Proverbs 22:6). Active Listening is the royal road to healthy relationship with your kids. Knowing the Four Stages of Parenting helps you stay in sync with them. Keep these tools in mind, as you find teachable moments with them.

Helping Your Kids Build Character

Every family has at least one character. You know, the one who draws attention in funny, silly ways, the jokester. Having a character in your family, however, is different from helping your kids build character. In this podcast, I list several ways for parents to help their kids build character.

Handling Change in Your Family’s Lives

The only 3 universal events all of experience are death, taxes, and change. Change happens. It's how we handle it that matters. The tone you set for your kids will greatly impact how they handle change in their lives. Here I offer 2 rules of change. Get these rules in your head and you can set the tone for how well your kids handle inevitable change.

Does Kindness Live in Your Home?

You don't have to, but you want to. Nobody told you to. You came up with it all by yourself. This is the origin of being kind. Isn't is strange that we may give up our seat on public transit for an elderly or handicapped person, but we're not typically kind to those we love? Check out these comments to find three encouragements for becoming kinder in your family.

 

Why Kids Act Out

All kids act out. It's one way that they explore their world, assert themselves, and nurture their natural curiosity. However, there are three kinds of acting out that create difficulties both for you as the parent as well as for your child. Check out this podcast to learn more.

Kids Will Be Kids

Have you ever had your child jerk your chain so hard that you couldn't wait to give them a piece of your mind (or maybe THE BELT)? What parent hasn't? Today I have such an example. However, I put the example in context as a learning experience for your child. Making your child into a "mini-me" is not the goal of parenting. While our kids are the best and the worst of both of their parents, first and foremost they are who they are. The takeaway" Kids will be kids.

Compassion Anybody?

As parents, we all are hard-wired to fix things, problem-solve, kiss the boo-boo. That is sufficient most of the time. But what about when your child is in an emotional meltdown? That's when he needs your compassion. Help him to weather the emotional storm before trying to make things better. This way, you give him the tools to right his own ship when he's grown and you're not always there anymore. Check this out. Blessings, Jon

Does Drama Live in YOur House?

Families have drama all the time. It comes in all shapes and sizes. How you handle the drama in your house sets the tone for all others living there. I've given three examples, the wrong ways to handle them, and a sample of healthier ways to handle them. Make sense? If you want to share your drama with me, contact me at www.thereformykids.com.

Own and Use Your Superpower!

Every parent has a superpower, but often it goes unused. When things are great at home, at work, with your kids, well, life doesn't get much better than that. When things are not so great, that's the time to invoke your superpower. Resilience is your superpower. In this column, I explain all the facets of resilience and give an example of mom using resilience to recapture equilibrium. Check it out.