Great Parenting Made Easy | Parenting with Love and Logic | Best Kept Secrets on Parenting

Great Parenting Made Easy

We’re parents now.

Whether that was a SURPRISE on all fronts or a planned decent into the world of liquid poop, vomit and zombie-esque trances brought on by too little sleep and not enough coffee on the planet to make a difference. Yup, we’re in charge now. Ready or not, we call the shots, make the decisions and get it done. We’re not just parents, we’re THE role models of the century.

From the time we bring them home, our treasures will observe, scrutinize, stalk and otherwise abuse us with their ability to generate eye-watering, gag-like smells not fit for any human being. True story.

You’ll be spit on and love it. Your cheeks, nose and eyes will make great friends with your baby’s  tongue. And much to your shock, you’ll find yourself giving more, loving more, than you ever thought possible. You’ll laugh, cry and want to rip your hair out…and that’s just the first day. Ha! Okay, perhaps that’s just the Terrible Two’s.

As parents–solo and joint–we want the absolute best for our children. We want to do what’s right and keep our heads on straight as we do. There’s so much we don’t know, so much we want to know and so much we’re not sure about. We want to be great parents and we want a solid, easy to follow plan to get there.

4 Tips to Parenting with Love and Logic

Laugh. Seems simple enough right? Just baaahahahahahaha and all will be well. Is that it Selena? Well, yes. Laughter does the soul good like medicine. It is highly contagious and is a great way to relieve stress. It’s easy to let fear, doubt and anxiety take over. Don’t. Laughing babies are happy babies and that’s a good sign you’re doing something right.

Lie. Yes, I said it. I know what you’re thinking: that’s cruel and wrong. You could be right but I’m telling you, it works. Case in point, the dreaded bed time. In my house, there would be crying, tantrums and nail biting “but why” sessions that made your eyes cross. Until I told them to sleep with their eyes open.  Impossible? I know. They didn’t. So, they laid there with their eyes open until they weren’t. No fuss. No issue. Problem solved. Today, we laugh about it…a lot. No harm. No foul.

Live. Parenting can be exhausting and tends to suck the life out of you, but you don’t have to let it. If you liked to dance or sing before, do it with your children. If you love the outdoors, crafting or other hobbies try getting your children involved. Kids love to be included in our lives. It makes them feel important and valued. And you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more than you think!

Learn. Parenting is a life long journey in which you never stop learning or growing, much like your bundle of joy. Kids are relentless with their questions. You should be too. Talk to your grandparents, other parents, pediatricians, friends and relatives. No one person has all the answers, including me. But we each carry a piece to a very intricate puzzle and if we put them all together, we can create one heck of an amazing view!

Great Parents Discuss

I want to hear from YOU!

Do you have parenting tips that help or have helped you be a better parent? Do you have burning parenting questions you’d like to ask? What’s your biggest fear about being a parent? You’re biggest triumph?

Share in the comments.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

And thanks for visiting!

Raising Civil Siblings – Yes, It’s Possible.

Raising civil siblings isn’t something you try, it’s something you commit to do–day after day after day. It’s certainly not the easiest path to travel but it’s definitely, the one that’s worth it. - How to Raise Siblings that Actually Like Each Other, November 14

Siblings that Like Each Other? Yes. It’s Possible

Welcome back!! In the last installment of how the heck do I get my kids to like each other, we learned that while every family has a unique make up, there are some pretty easy things that parents can do to foster a better relationship between siblings. And by easy, I mean it’s not rocket science; but it does require some elbow grease, tenacity and a willingness to ask AND answer tough questions about your parenting style. The only constant is change; but the only path to truth is honesty.

Let’s jump right in and learn about the things we can do to help our children create positive, meaningful relationships with their siblings.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. It’s not just a song

Unlike most jobs, parenting is a 25-hour/8-day a week job. This means on any given day, it’s easy for us to be tired, burnt out, feel overwhelmed, frustrated or angry. What are you driving at Selena? Ever make an honest mistake and then have someone royally ream you out for it…in front of others? Didn’t feel too good afterward, did ya? Well, think about the cute little whirlwind you just snapped at for yelling or screaming, only to find out they actually hurt themselves or had something important to say? It happens…to all of us. Respect is something our children learn from US! You snapped at one of them unjustly? Apologize. Did you shout at one child in front of the others? Apologize in front of the others. If you don’t respect them, how can you expect them to respect their siblings?

Families that play together

Repeat after me: I will never get too old or be too busy to play with my kids. Parents: that needs to be your mantra. Kids express themselves and learn about life through play. If your little one is scared of monsters under the bed, get you a sword (light sabers or paper towel rolls work too) and fight those things to the death! Are they pretending to drive in NASCAR? Grab a frisbee or plastic plate, sit along side and vrrroooom your way to the finish line. If you do it with them, they’re so much likely to do with their siblings. Better yet, invite them all to play a game that the entire family can share in. Them vs. you. You’ll be surprised at how much they actually love to beat you at something. Yes, dads, that does mean you may have to let them win. (wink)

It’s all about ME

When my teens were little they shared a room. They were already so close, I didn’t have the heart to separate them. There was one thing I insisted on, they have their ME time. And ME time is?  ME time is just what it sounds like a time that’s all about your child. They play what they want, how they want and they don’t have to share…a thing…ever. The more ME time I gave the duo, the more they began playing with each other. And if one tried to violate the other’s ME time, I stepped in right away.  Teaching our kids to honor boundaries does wonders for helping them honor each other’s.

Well there you have it, 6 steps on how to raise your children to like their siblings. If you missed the first part, read it here. As I said, it’s not rocket science. It certainly isn’t an easy road to travel; but it’s definitely, absolutely, worth traveling.

How do you help or raise your kids to like each other? Share your tips in the comments.

Parents: Do You Know Your Worth?

Stay at home mothers and fathers, if you could earn a salary do you know how much that would be? Think you could guess?

Working parents, who work equally as hard as stay at home parents, do you know how much you could command in salary? Single parents, care to get in on the discussion? Do you know your salary worth as a parent?

I LOVE this giveaway featured in Blissfully Domestic Magazine. While, we all know that parents cannot command salaries from their spouses, children or families (or the government, although executives and banks do it often and call it a bailout), it is comforting and empowering to know that we as parents MATTER.

Too often, we forget that kissing away tears, banishing boogeymen, and tossing around a football is equally as important, if not more important, than holding down a traditional 9 to 5 job. Yes, we want to provide for our children and make sure they have a better life; but we cannot and should not dismiss the fact that children need our presence more than they need our presents.

I went to Salary.com and discovered that were I to command a salary, I could claim upwards of $112,000 a year! The way I figure it, that’s still too low but if you were to throw in a pair of these beauties, we could call it even.

Parents, don’t ever forget how much you matter in the lives of your children and family.  While Salary.com can somewhat calculate your salary value, the impact you have on your children is priceless! You are a one-of-a-kind original whose worth cannot be measured.