5 Ways to Stay Positive
How to stay positive is something I have spent some time thinking about this spring. It’s not always easy, and I will admit I struggle quite a bit. But our brains are powerful, and the way we think about the world affects our mood, our relationships, and our health. So, learning how to stay positive…
Just a Little Fairy Dust
Stories can be very comforting. They can show you that there will be (the option of) a happy ending. They will show you that sometimes we reach our goals by choosing the path less traveled. They let you believe in miracles. And sometimes, they provide comfort in unexpected ways. A couple of weeks ago, I…
You Say It Like It’s a Bad Thing
You accuse me of “sheltering my kids” like it is a bad thing. For 9 months they were part of my body. For another year+ they needed to be within arms reach for both nourishment and mobility. They will walk out on their own into the world around the age of 18. But there is…
Q&A with Kim John Payne: Age-appropriate Service Opportunities?
The following was part of a Question and Answer session which took place during Kim’s recent webinar, The Soul of Discipline for Teens and Tweens. We so often wonder about how best to nurture qualities of compassion and service in a way that is age appropriate. Here are a few ideas. What other means of…
7 Family Habits Worth Building (and How to)
Special thanks to Melitsa Avila, one of our Simplicity Parenting Coaches, and founder of Play Activities and founder of Raising Playful Tots, for this thoughtful and inspiring post. Which habit will you focus on building today? If I were a fly on the wall in your home on a good day what would the…
Youth Sports: Teaching Bullying or Respect?
Young adult fiction writer, Patty Blount, raises an important question in this post on bullying and youth sports. How is playing sports in today’s youth sports culture affecting our kids? Are they learning about leadership, cooperation and teamwork, as we hope and expect when we—their parents—enroll them in sports and encourage them to play hard…
Too Much, Too Soon: Young Athletes and Injuries
This NPR story about young kids suffering severe back injuries is yet another glaring reminder that today’s youth sports culture exposes children to too much, too soon. Dr. Neeru Jayanthi, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Loyola Medicine in Maywood, Ill. studied more than 1200 young athletes and found that lower back injuries are the…
Stories from the Heart of Parenting – Story of the Month
As we are accepting stories from parents like you for the upcoming “Stories from the Heart of Parenting” compilation, we will be featuring a “Story of the Month” which we hope will encourage you on your own parenting journey. We can be strengthened by each others’ stories, and knowledge that none of us are alone. …
Q&A with Kim John Payne – Choices and Young Children
The following is taken from a live Q&A with parents who participated in Kim’s recent webinar, The Soul of Discipline. This particular question addresses the issue of young children and choices. Question: When my son was two, I really used the 2-choice strategy – i.e., “Would you like this choice or that choice?” …It seemed…
A Simple Holiday: Fewer Toys and More Time
Special thanks to Laurel Moglen and The Mother Company for this lovely article and interview with Kim John Payne. Please visit The Mother Company to see the complete piece. An interview with Kim John Payne My kids are grilling me on what they’re going to get for the holidays and it’s driving me batty.…