Parenting From The Source

Teens are bigger, louder, and more persistent than toddlers, so how is it possible for a parent to outlast a teen’s rebellion? (See previous blog about persistence with toddlers: To Discipline, You Must Win the Face-Off.) The thing about teens is that they love to argue and to have the last word. The Alternative to Arguing [...]

The hardest part of discipline is being consistent. See my previous article Consistency in Discipline and my confession in Comments. Teaching Obedience I heard a story about a parent trying to get her eighteen-month-old son to stay off the floor she was mopping. The easiest way to do that would have been to put him in [...]

The room was eerily quiet considering that it held over twenty preteens. The young man facing off against me was tall enough to look me straight in the eye when he declared, “You can’t make me.” My teacher training took over, reminding me that confrontations should never take place in front of other students. I [...]

Twenty-one smiling faces greeted me that morning. They eagerly waited to see what the new teacher would do. Would she make their world a good place the seven hours a day she spent with them in the sixth grade? From that classroom of twenty one would come a banker, an engineer, two farmers, a nurse, [...]

In my last post, I wrote about younger siblings who become rebellious when faced with the challenge of being as good as an older sibling. See Younger Sibling Rebels Rather Than Compete. Often rebellion takes the form of overt misbehavior such as acting out in class, destroying property, or being aggressive toward others. A Passive [...]

In my last post, I listed several possible causes of rebellion. See What Causes Rebellion? Today, I will look at the first one only – the failure to be as good as an older sibling. One approach to child psychology says that all behavior of a younger child is driven by the need to catch up [...]

When a child is rebellious, there is always an underlying cause. In a nutshell, the child is trying to find a way to feel better. Even when parents are trying their best to make each child feel loved and special, he or she may see things differently. Examine your child’s situation from his or her [...]

When no one was watching, Isabella ran her finger around the icing on her sister’s birthday cake. Then, as if she knew she hadn’t done enough damage, she got a spoon and took bites out of the side. She then picked up her doll and sat on the couch to wait for the coming fireworks. [...]

I had a classmate in high school who was perfect. He made good grades, pleased teachers, dressed well, and displayed courtly manners. In college, he fell apart. He partied all night, skipped classes, made bad grades, became sloppy in dress and manner, and eventually dropped out. That kind of “about face” is every parent’s worst [...]

A parent asked me, “What happens if I put my child in timeout, and he won’t stay?”  (Does this make you think of the nanny programs on television?) A good guideline for choosing a method of discipline is “Never require your child to do something unless you are strong enough and smart enough to enforce [...]