The Best Way to Help Your Four-Year-Old Learn
Who really knows what provokes that mischievous glint in the eye of a four-year-old just moments before they deliver the kick that makes the block tower tumble? I suspect it’s something about the thrill of destruction combined with the wondrous spectacle of discovery....
How to Help Young Children Cope with Change
“Change” is a powerful word. One that invokes countless reactions depending on who you ask. Change is also unavoidable. Sometimes it’s within our control, but most often it’s not. Certain changes such as the loss of a loved one, serious illness of a parent, and...
What Your New Baby Needs Most From You
Regardless of how many friends, family members, and perfect strangers try to paint an accurate picture of parenthood, there’s nothing anyone can say that adequately prepares you for that heart-stretching moment you hold your newborn for the first time.
Teaching Your Kids Radical Respect
Today’s culture is bringing an unhealthy sexualization to our kids at a younger and younger age. We were 4, 6, 9, 12, and 15 at one point, but we were never their age. They experience so much so young. With the onset of early sexualization in our culture, parents must...
The Best Part of Being a Third Grader
Third grade is a year of beautiful discovery and soul-shaping challenges. It’s a season of adventure for both you and your child.
How Boys Learn Differently Than Girls
In our last post, we talked about how girls learn differently than boys. As we noted boys and girls are very different! Whereas girls are primarily wired to learn through being social and relationships, boys are hardwired for activity and movement. Physical...
How Girls Learn Differently Than Boys
“My favorite times of the day are lunch and P.E.” “The hardest parts of my day are P.E. and lunch.” If you had to guess, which gender would you say made each of these statements? Over the last fifteen years, as counselors, we have sat with thousands of kids,...
4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Talking to Your Kids About Racism
If you've been paying attention these last few years, you know this: Racism is real. But when it comes to talking to kids about racism, many parents are uncertain about how to talk about it with their kids. And while we want to address it, we wish we could shelter...
Your Kid Won’t Measure Up This Year. And, That’s Wonderful.
Our society’s definitions of success have driven us to push kids to exhaustion as they struggle to perform at our impossible standards.
Confessions of an Insecure Mom
I’m doing my best. I’m trying to care for my child the best I know how. Aren’t we all? I’m trying to raise him well, make informed decisions, love him to the very ends of my human limits. And somehow it’s not enough. And too much. All at once. The comments started the...
You’re a Good Parent Even When You Drop Plates
Tucker was a few weeks old, and it was my first night back to my part-time job as a writing teacher. I’m pretty sure I was teetering under the weight of everything I carried into my parents’ house: the car seat, the diaper bag, bottles, milk, binkies, blankets, burp...
How Sixth Graders are Like Preschoolers
As a church youth pastor, one of my favorite moments of the year is watching parents of new sixth graders bring their kids to youth group for the first time. Often, they look terrified. And I don’t mean the kids. Sure, the sixth graders are nervous too.