How to Raise A Stable Child In An Unstable World
In an era before technology we were forced to be creative, inventive, and close to one another. We had a village to raise a child mentality. There were independent/critical thinkers. These are the people who have given us the world we have today. Who will be those inventors and creative people tomorrow when we have dumbed down and eliminated the human connection? Social media has taken over face to face relationships. Texting has replaced real conversation. We have TV’s as babysitters and iPad’s have replaced hands on teaching. We need to recognize how artificial our world has become and move forward to repairing it. Being a parent in this era…
Not My Childhood, How My Parents Have Made Me A Better Parent.
Charles Dickens said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Parenting is the easiest and the toughest job. Easy because it works on mutual love and instinctual care but tough because a single mistake can cause lifelong scars. With that said, these are things that my child will never understand: Sexual abuse: I am a product of sexual abuse that started at a very young age until I was 13 years old. I fortunately have a powerful God that kept me from becoming a statistic. I used it to make me an independent and strong person and not a victim. It also taught me a…
To the mom/woman that ______, I don’t See you.
To the mom/woman that ______, I don’t See you So many titles these days that have “I See You” and this may make me a bit unpopular but, I don’t See you. I don’t See the struggles you face with depression or anxiety every day because of your situation. I don’t See the difficulties of having a child with special needs. I don’t See the woman that has spent countless hours injecting herself with a cocktail of meds and praying this time will be her miracle and conceive. I don’t See the mama that is with the love of her life in the NICU, praying that she will get to…
Are We Practicing Grace, Love & Forgiveness As Jesus Would?
My kiddo has found a new show that he adores and I am on board as well as it teaches great life principles and lessons. The show is Superbook. It is 2 children and their robot that are transported in time by “Superbook” to the biblical era. They are always transported into a point that teaches them something that they are experiencing in real time. We have watched a dozen or so episodes now and not only is my child learning, I am learning. How am I learning you ask, I will tell you. Last year I wrote a piece “Why I Will Not Have A Conversation About Race With…
Summer Series: Must Do’s In My State, California Pt 2!
Sacramento, the capital of California, is not a common vacation spot. When people think of California, they imagine Los Angeles, San Francisco or Napa Valley. Growing up in the Sacramento suburbs I never thought of my hometown as a travel destination. Why would someone want to visit this area? However, as the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow founder. Now that I’ve moved out of the area I can see why Sacramento is a great place for a vacation. Here’s my top reasons to visit Sac Town. By Kristen Kehl of Hello Minder Food. Sacramento is known as America’s Farm to Fork Capitol. Hundreds of acres of farm land…
Terrible Two’s Or Unrealistic Expectations?
Ahh Terrible Two’s what every parent dreads. Just kidding that is when they are teenagers right? I personally don’t believe in terrible two’s. I believe that adults have unrealistic expectations how they think a child should act and the adult’s response is what magnifies the child’s terrible behavior. I read a piece recently by Dr. Laura Markham recently on discipline vs. teaching and it was a real eye opener for me. I am a soft one on disciplining Cooper and I may or may not let him get away with more than he should. He is two however and I am realistic in his understanding of how things should and…
For Shame For Shame
Parenting, one of the toughest jobs you will ever have. There is no handbook or Dial A Parenting Coach Hotline, and you will undoubtedly do things wrong a gazillion times. Wonderful thing is, you will also do a lot of things right. The right things will not receive near the attention nor get the kudos deserved but let someone catch wind of something that is wrong in their eyes and let the Parent Shaming begin! I’ve even had perfect strangers threaten to kidnap my infant daughter because I happened to have her in a car-seat in her stroller (asleep) rather than in my arms, while I was in a checkout…
15 Steps To Handling An Angry Little Person
We are going through the temper tantrum stage currently and I have read several wonderful pieces on dealing with anger and outbursts in my toddler. I realize that he is tiny yet and he does not have the skills to manage his emotions. I also remind myself that I am an adult and have moments where I do not manage my emotions well so having compassion for him during this time is crucial. I found a fantastic article by Dr. Laura Markham ,creator of Aha! Parenting, that really put things into perspective. She breaks down the why and how not to react while giving great advice on how to handle…
