Parenting Tips (Page 7)

Getting Kids to Listen without Yelling

• • • • • Parenting Tip July 9, 2014 Getting Kids to Listen without Yelling When we teach parents to avoid responding to their children in anger we get a common reaction: “But my kids won’t obey unless I get angry.” And you’re probably right, but only because you’ve taught your children to wait until you’re angry before they have to obey. You give your kids cues to know when you mean business. Those cues tell your child that…

Use Rules to Teach Values

• • • • • Parenting Tip June 24, 2014 Use Rules to Teach Values Every family has rules. As children grow older the rules change but the underlying values stay the same. For example, the three-year-old who isn’t permitted out of the house without supervision, may be allowed to play in the front or back yard when he is five. The ten-year-old may be required to check in if leaving the neighborhood, and the teenager must report in at…

Kids Love Heroes

• • • • • Parenting Tip June 18, 2014 Kids Love Heroes Isn’t it interesting how kids are drawn to heroes? We think kids love heroes for a good reason. Heroes are characterized by four things: they do what’s right, deal with wrongs, are honest, and they care about others. Kids love heroes because God has placed a conscience inside each child that prompts them in the same four ways: to do what’s right, deal with wrongs, be honest,…

Identify the Cues of Anger

• • • • • Parenting Tip June 12, 2014 Identify the Cues of Anger Helping children deal with anger is an important task of parenting. Many parents report that there is no time between the trigger and the response in their children. Before we can teach children anger management, we must first help them see anger coming on. James 1:19 says that we should be slow to anger. Here are some ways to help children slow down the process.…

Anger is Good

• • • • • Parenting Tip May 28, 2014 Anger is Good Parents get angry, but anger isn’t always bad. In fact, parents often get angry when children are doing something wrong. It’s best to view anger as a flag, created by God, that says, “Something is wrong here.” The something wrong may be an unrealistic expectation on the parent’s part, but it’s often a problem in the child that needs attention. Disobedience, selfishness, arguing, and bickering are just…

Stop Anger When it Starts

• • • • • Parenting Tip May 21, 2014 Stop Anger When it Starts The child who is getting frustrated with a puzzle or struggling with a friend needs to learn how to deal with the building energy inside before exploding. We encourage children and parents to learn to stop. The size of the “stop” depends on the intensity of the anger. Sometimes the stop means engaging in another activity or leaving the situation. Other times it just means…

Where a Bad Attitude Comes From

• • • • • Parenting Tip May 19, 2014 Where a Bad Attitude Comes From Sometimes children obey but they do it with a bad attitude. Honor is the solution. It’s important to teach children what honor looks like in very practical terms. One mom defined attitude as “the heart of how you do something.” Obedience is revealed in actions. Honor is revealed in the attitude that goes along with those actions. Often a bad attitude comes from an…

Honor Defined in Practical Terms

• • • • • Parenting Tip May 15, 2014 Honor Defined in Practical Terms Children need to know what Godly character looks like in practical terms. We love the character quality of honor, not just because God commands it, but also because it has so much rich meaning for parents and children. It can give direction in many of the frustrating moments we experience in family life. In fact, every form of selfishness has an honor-based solution. Honor means……

An Indirect Approach to Sibling Conflict

• • • • • Parenting Tip May 8, 2014 An Indirect Approach to Sibling Conflict One great way to challenge the sibling conflict problems in a household is to play games with your children. Games are miniature scenarios about real life. Whether you’re playing a board game, a card game, or some kind of communication or role playing game, children have to use relational skills. Playing games can teach children how to win, how to lose, how to show…

Helping Kids Deal with Emotions

• • • • • Parenting Tip April 29, 2014 Helping Kids Deal with Emotions Many families ignore emotions or view them as a nuisance. But emotions affect children more than they realize. One of the keys to helping children understand emotions is to teach them the difference between the feeling and the response. It’s okay to feel sad, but that doesn’t justify treating people unkindly. When Joel was thirteen, his dog, Skippy, died. Joel had raised Skippy from a…