Do you find yourself constantly telling them to brush their teeth, make their bed or pick out their clothes for the next day? If you want to encourage responsibility in your child, consider posting a chart of their daily routines in their room. List your child’s name and their responsibilities for the day, then let them check off their completed tasks. You may even reward your child with a special treat if they...

Honor them!  Whether you’re 5 or 50, you should honor your mother and father.  How?  To help you get started, here are 4 things to do to honor your parents. First, pick up the phone tonight and tell them that you are thankful for the good things they did for you growing up.  Second, realize that it’s never too late to apologize, or forgive.  Third, make it a point to enjoy their company whenever you have the...

It’s the sound of a whining child!  Parents will do almost anything to make it stop.  But yelling or responding harshly to a whining child is one of the worst things you can do.  Instead, try this.    First, ignore it.  If you do, your child will learn that whining doesn’t work.  Second, when your child begins to whine, simply leave the room.  Third, remove the cause of the whining.  Fourth, name it…say something...

With five teenagers, I've learned that one of the most important things I can do when my children are going through a tough time is to ask caring questions, like "You seem very sad, how are you feeling?"… "I can see that you're hurting; what's going on in that heart of yours right now?" Or, I'm hurting because I can see that you're hurting… what's causing your pain?" After you've asked the question, be sure just...

Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Caldwell, shared with me how he wrote many letters to his daughter while she was in college. But she never said anything to him about it. He wondered if she ever even read them.  Then, one day when Jim was visiting her, he saw all of the letters he had written proudly posted on her dorm room bulletin board! Notes are powerful. Write to your kids. Your children may not...

Our kids are constantly evaluated on their abilities at school, in sports, in the arts and even at home. But what about you?  What grade would your kids give you as a parent?  Well, here’s a way to make an A every time.  Remember the 6 A’s of parenting.  First is Affirmation.  When your children are sharing their feelings or opinions, they want you to listen to them, identify with them and affirm them.  Second is...

There are many times when we must stand strong as parents and say “no” to our children, especially when something is not what’s best for them.  Because I often say “no” to my kids, I am always searching for more ways to say “yes.” So, every time one of my kids asks me to do something with them, I do my best to figure out how to make it happen even though it’s inconvenient or even though I had other plans.  When it...