parenting tips

Tips On How To Deal With Teenage Attitude

Your normally well-behaved child, on entering adolescence, may now start showing teenage attitude problems. No matter how hard you try to handle any situation, she may now answer sullenly, give snide comments, have an indifferent attitude, and the worst of all may totally shut you out from her life by being uncommunicative and secretive. On top of all this, your teenage child might have a complete disregard of you, your principles, your opinions, and assume they know much better than you. They also may hold you responsible for any minor […]

Teach Your Teenager about Non-Stranger Rape

At our girls-only and boys-only camps in the Midwest, we teach our campers, and enforce, the rule of 3—whereby a child is never to be alone with an adult. I’m not sure why this rule isn’t mandatory at all schools, religious institutions, and anywhere where children and adults interact…but that’s a topic for another day. Part of the reason my wife and I taught our child about ownership of his body from an early age, is so he didn’t run the risk of being abused. Other parents think along the […]

5 Ways to Become a Lighthouse Parent

Child psychologist (and fellow Expert Online Training guru) Caren Baruch Feldman wrote a recent piece describing the challenges of mindful parenting, specifically about how to sufficiently guide children yet give them enough leeway to foster their independence. “Lighthouse parenting” allows children to ride the waves, while providing sufficient guidance so they don’t crash into the rocks. Being a lighthouse parent differs from “helicopter parents” who are constantly hovering anxiously overhead (or snowplow parents who would remove the rocks from the ocean). Bullets below, with the whole piece available at this […]

Navigating the Pre-Teen Years

Here’s a good post from blogger Jodi Durr (Meaningful Mama) with some tips on navigating those sometimes treacherous pre-teen years. At our girls-only summer camp, we get lots of practice; below are some of the article’s highlights that can work well for you at home. Recognize it is Normal – Each child is an individual and should be treated as such, but the change in hormones and how their brains are developing is fairly consistent with other people their age. A Commitment to Love and Show Grace – Make it clear to your […]

How to Raise a Hero

As my eight year-old son returns to school for the beginning of the school year, it reminds me of the importance of providing an environment where he is challenged to be the best person he can be. An old article from sociologist Christine Carter has some good tips on how to maximize your child’s ability to take action rather than be an unresponsive bystander when witnessing wrong. Our communities can always use more heroes! Highlights below! Here’s how we can make it more likely we raise heroes than bystanders: Foster their […]

Mistakes Parents Make with Their Kids

Here’s a good blog post by author Tim Elmore describing how parents being over-involved in their children’s lives negatively impacts them. He also offers some good corrective advice. Below are excerpts, with the whole post available at this link: 1. We Risk Too Little We’ve insulated our kids from risk. Author Gever Tulley suggests, “If you’re over 30, you probably walked to school, played on the monkey bars, and learned to high-dive at the public pool. If you’re younger, it’s unlikely you did any of these things. Yet, has the world become […]

7 Parenting Behaviors to Maximize Leadership Potential

At our overnight summer camps near Chicago, we focus on empowering our campers and maximizing their leadership capabilities. I read a recent article on the topic by leadership trainer Kathy Caprino in conjunction with leadership expert Dr. Tim Elmore. Below are some highlights from the piece, framed positively. Let our children experience risk We live in a world that warns us of danger at every turn. The “safety first” preoccupation enforces our fear of losing our kids, so we do everything we can to protect them. We have insulated them from […]

Why Camp Counselors Can Out-Parent Parents

At our overnight summer camp near Chicago, we appreciate the significance of giving children the freedom to learn from others closer to their age. Psychologist Michael Thompson also appreciates that freedom and its positive impact on kids’ intellectual and character growth. As he notes: “Children love to learn, but they get tired of being taught by adults. Children want to learn from older children, and, at a camp that means older campers, C.I.T.’s (counselors in training) and camp counselors. They want to live with them, emulate them, absorb them. In […]

Social Media Might Help Shaping Children’s Identity

While we have to be mindful of our children’s online interactions, some recent research shows that social media sites can actually help a child form her/his own identity. This can begin by shaping how your child interacts with others on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. If you can help guide them to have consistent, public, positive social interactions online, this can help boost their self-esteem. At this link, sociologist Christine Carter discusses further thoughts on how important it is to teach children how to act online with […]

Tips On How To Deal With Teenage Attitude

Teach Your Teenager about Non-Stranger Rape

5 Ways to Become a Lighthouse Parent

Navigating the Pre-Teen Years

How to Raise a Hero

Mistakes Parents Make with Their Kids

7 Parenting Behaviors to Maximize Leadership Potential

Why Camp Counselors Can Out-Parent Parents

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