Parenting

Parenting tips, advice, kid’s activities and how to manage a family.

Podcast Episode 229: Why We Use Alcohol to Cope with Stress and How to do “Dry January” Right featuring Casey McGuire Davidson
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Podcast Episode 229: Why We Use Alcohol to Cope with Stress and How to do “Dry January” Right featuring Casey McGuire Davidson

Explore the power of ‘Dry January’ and learn how to honestly assess your drinking habits. Discover healthier methods for stress relief with dry January, understand why many moms are joining this movement, and find solace in the knowledge that you’re not alone on this transformative journey. Cheers to a month of self-reflection, support, and embracing a life beyond spirits!

Podcast Episode 227: New Year, New Mindset: How Mental Strength Can Transform Your Life with Amy Morin, LCSW
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Podcast Episode 227: New Year, New Mindset: How Mental Strength Can Transform Your Life with Amy Morin, LCSW

Unlock the secrets to a resilient mindset in 2024! Dive into practical strategies for enhancing mental strength, empowering your kids, and fortifying relationships. Join this journey of self-discovery and transform your life with expert insights and relatable experiences. Start the year strong with the power of a resilient mindset! #NewYearNewMindset #ResilienceIn2024 #TransformYourLife

Podcast Episode 221: Handling the Holidays: How to Communicate with Your Partner to Enjoy the Holiday Season
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Podcast Episode 221: Handling the Holidays: How to Communicate with Your Partner to Enjoy the Holiday Season

Feel like you’re balancing ALL the things this holiday season? We’ve got the solution! From setting shared plans and active listening to navigating extended family dynamics, discover how to create a united front and understand each other’s stressors. Join us as we turn holiday chaos into a symphony of joy and connection. Let’s navigate the holidays together and make this season truly magical!

Podcast Episode 220: Finding the Balance: How to Thrive at Work and At Home and Learning to Say “No”
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Podcast Episode 220: Finding the Balance: How to Thrive at Work and At Home and Learning to Say “No”

Discover the secrets of balancing work and home life as a mom with practical tips on saying ‘no,’ setting boundaries, and thriving without burnout. Join us on a journey to find harmony in the chaos, because being a supermom is about making empowered choices. Dive into this podcast for relatable experiences, personal insights, and actionable advice—because finding balance is not just a goal, it’s a daily triumph!

Podcast Episode 219: Hate Traveling with Your Kids? Here’s How to Survive Holiday Travel This Year
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Podcast Episode 219: Hate Traveling with Your Kids? Here’s How to Survive Holiday Travel This Year

Preparing to travel with your kids can be enough to make anyone cry. While gearing up for our travel, we also think about what a new setting will do to our kids’ schedules. We’re sharing 3 foolproof tips to help you not only survive but actually enjoy traveling with your whole family!

Podcast Episode 218: The B Word: Setting Boundaries to Help You Survive December (and the rest of the year too!)
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Podcast Episode 218: The B Word: Setting Boundaries to Help You Survive December (and the rest of the year too!)

Setting boundaries is key – during the holiday season and all year long. We’re sharing easy tips for setting boundaries for moms with kids of all ages and stages, to make December truly a wonderful time of year, for everyone in your family!

Podcast Episode 216: Kids giving you the slip? Here’s how to spend time with your teens and preteens, without forcing it
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Podcast Episode 216: Kids giving you the slip? Here’s how to spend time with your teens and preteens, without forcing it

Ever find yourself thinking “Why don’t my kids want to hang out with me anymore?!”. Trust us, we feel ya. We’re sharing 3 things you need to know to get more quality time with your kids as they get older.

Consequence For Hitting Sibling
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Consequence For Hitting Sibling

Not more than 2 seconds after they hop in the car, the screaming begins.

“No, that’s not what happened Erik. My lunch is at 11:35am, not 11:30.”

I brace myself.

“NO SISSY! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT”

And then, WHAP!

He reaches his little arm across the space in the bucket seats between them and hits her.

“Erik, DON’T HIT ME!!!”

That’s when I intervene.

I don’t know how school bus drivers do it. How do you discipline 30 kids when you’re trying to keep safe and focus on not veering your large yellow, monstrosity off the road

I’m in a Toyota Highlander with only two children and I’m ready to lose my mind.

Kid Crying While Doing Homework
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Kid Crying While Doing Homework

“Noooo… I can’t do it. I don’t have the time!!”

Have you heard this from your child when she sits down to do homework? My gosh, it wrecks me.

I can feel her overwhelm and so relate to it.

I know what it feels like to have so much to do and what seems like no time to do it.

So, I jump in and try to help.

“It’s ok sweetie, let’s write down all the things you have to do to get it out of your head.”

“NO!” she pouts back, “That won’t help. I don’t know any of this and I have to get started now.”

What do you do with that? You see the problem, you know the steps to take to fix it and yet your child pushes you away like you couldn’t possibly know what she’s talking about or what she’s dealing with.

How To Get Your Child To Pick Up After Themselves
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How To Get Your Child To Pick Up After Themselves

Ever walk in your house and become immediately overwhelmed with the stuff lying around?

Its bad enough when you have a kitchen junk counter stacked with 3 layers deep with kid’s artwork, random books and those gadgets for your door that you don’t want to throw away but you don’t really know how to install.

But then is all the stuff your kids leave laying in the living room or crammed onto the top of the family room game shelf.

3 Simple Ways to Make Homework Fun

3 Simple Ways to Make Homework Fun

I’m going to be blunt.

Right now, your child’s homework time just plain sucks.

It does.

You dread it every night. “Hey, have you done your math homework yet?

“NO! I can’t do my homework. I don’t want to do it yet. Can’t I watch TV? I’ll do it after dinner.”

So much back and forth and back and forth. It’s become too much.

The question is, how do you make your child want to do homework?

How do you make homework less boring?

Podcast Episode 86: Parenting on the Same Page with Amy McCready
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Podcast Episode 86: Parenting on the Same Page with Amy McCready

It’s hard enough when you are trying to pick a place to go out to eat and no one is on the same page, but when you and your partner or co-parent aren’t on the same page…it can be downright agonizing! We discuss with Amy how parents can identify what the real issue is causing their parenting struggles and how to best get on the same page and become a united front.

Preteen Mood Swings
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Preteen Mood Swings

You walk in the door from school. Your nine-year-old comes in after you.

Everything seems fine. She’s happy. All is well and good.

Then, you remind her that the dishwasher needs unloading.

Boom. It’s like something inside her detonates.

“Noooo… I don’t have time to do that. That’s so unfair. I can’t believe you’re making me do this!:

She glares at you, stomps over to the kitchen sink and starts crying.

WHA-ATT just happened? She was happy. I didn’t blame her. I just had a simple request.

Podcast Episode 112: What is Social Justice Parenting?
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Podcast Episode 112: What is Social Justice Parenting?

When it comes to parenting, so many of us want to raise “good kids”. Kids who will be kind to others, who can problem solve, kids who truly understand and act out of compassion, and who understand inclusivity, justice, and equality. But there is often a space between raising “good kids” and raising pro-justice kids. That’s where the concept of Social Justice Parenting comes in.

Podcast Episode 61: How Logical Consequences are More Effective Than Punishments at Home
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Podcast Episode 61: How Logical Consequences are More Effective Than Punishments at Home

Too often, we fall into the trap of punishing our kids in the heat of the moment after something’s happened. But that hardly ever works. Here, we’ll discuss the difference between logical consequences and punishments, as well as how to make effective logical consequences that will have a positive impact on your discipline at home.

Podcast Episode #146: How to Parent Like a Spy with Christina Hillsberg
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Podcast Episode #146: How to Parent Like a Spy with Christina Hillsberg

Have you ever thought that being a parent should carry some training? How about spy training? I mean, who doesn’t want to learn how to parent like a spy? Meet Christina Hillsberg, former CIA agent and author who shares how her training as a spy has influenced her parenting with her 5 kids.

Middle School Checklist
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Middle School Checklist

It’s 6pm on a Thursday and I get a frantic text from a friend. Her daughter goes to the same school as mine.

“Hey, does your daughter have the math test from 2 months ago? The teacher is letting Celina retake it but she can’t find it.”

“Yeah, hold on, let me ask her.”

My daughter does have the test – which she doesn’t hand over right away because she wants to know exactly why she needs it, what it will be used for… third degree basically.
Satisfied with all my answers,she opens her binder to the math section, pulls out the test and hands it to me.
“Thanks,” my friend texts back, “I don’t know what Celina did with it.”

Could this be why you’re so frustrated as a mom?
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Could this be why you’re so frustrated as a mom?

Do you feel like you’re too nice?

One of my students called me out for that my first year of teaching.

In her very astute, wise little fifth grade voice she told me, “Mrs. Crohn, you are too nice”

But wait… don’t you want to be nice? Isn’t that something to aim for?

Kind yes. But nice…nice is taking on the full responsibility of other people’s feelings and adapting your behavior to make others happy.

That’s what I was doing when an 11-year-old called me out.

Creating A Bare Bones Budget When You’re Not Making Much Money
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Creating A Bare Bones Budget When You’re Not Making Much Money

In the midst of this strange season of social distancing and change, money may well be a scary topic for you. Maybe you’re like my family and you’re working through a big loss of income due to the pandemic? Maybe overwhelm and anxiety define your money situation in this season of uncertainty? Maybe you’ve decided to keep your head down and eyes closed, playing the “if I don’t look at it, then it can’t be real game” that our kids played when they were little?

Homework Helper Middle School
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Homework Helper Middle School

Dread your middle schooler’s homework every night? These tips for middle school parents will guide you in effective homework strategies.

There I was, sitting in my son’s 7th grade Parent-Teacher conferences, listening to the Literature teacher tell me the same thing I have heard for the past few years at every single conference…

“Your son is very bright, well-behaved, an absolutely pleasure in class. However, he doesn’t seem to get his homework done. And our first test of the year didn’t go very well for him.”