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Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Son With ADHD? Do you... lose your temper, yell and find yourself repeating directions all day? Parenting is a difficult job. But, parenting a son with ADHD is a task saved for God's favorites (yay you)! [caption id="attachment_928" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Sons are special, but bring their own set of challenges for sure![/caption]  ...[ read more ]

Why You Should Let Your Preteen Talk Back Nothing makes nostrils flare and lips purse up quite like the "talk back". It can take a calm, cool and collected dad to red faced, bulging veins and a firm but tight jawed, "JUST DO IT!" in 2 seconds flat. I remember feeling absolutely lost when my volleyball coach told me not to...[ read more ]

[caption id="attachment_972" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Communication with teenagers is hard! Talking louder doesn't fix it.[/caption] What to do When Communication Gets Messy Get on the same page Teaching your child expectations for communication is important. Go to family therapy with your teen to learn together a strategy for communicating. Define your why Identify why you want to communicate- you want to...[ read more ]

[caption id="attachment_958" align="aligncenter" width="750"] You set boundaries and they break through them to run to the sunset. Mend the fences and keep on keeping on.[/caption] Who Else Wants to Raise A Kid That Can Have Healthy Relationships? OH NO! The parent that has abdicated the throne. This comes up with teenagers who have entered highschool. Or even 13 year olds...[ read more ]

Often when I initially meet with a child, I explore their emotional vocabulary. I may refer to my chart of emotions (do you have one in your classroom/home? ) or my flip book with emotions. I will ask them to share social stories  related to each emotion. Ex: what kind of things make you feel sad… happy… angry… frustrated… In these...[ read more ]

  “How to not be awkward” is a top hit in google because it is something people have actually searched for. On google. I’ll just let that sink in… it is incredibly common to feel out of place, not know what to say, or feel like you are seen as a strange bird. Apparently, it is also incredibly common to...[ read more ]

  Here is a big dose of transparency. I shared this (or something similar) with my mom recently and she was shocked at my revelation of *badness* without going into tons of details- she asked- "sheesh! What did you do??" And I worry you may think the same thing. I am not perfect, I've got major blemishes in my past,...[ read more ]

So the moral of the story behind this quote is if you are going to FIGHT, fight to win, not to hurt each other. Most people would agree that a little conflict is a good thing because it means you are being honest. Disagreements are healthy. Discussions are necessary. Continuing to calmly communicate in order to solve a problem... these...[ read more ]

I love gardening. Scratch that. I love planting already blooming flowers and looking at them. The next part... where things need water, fertilizer, weeding and re-potting is not my favorite. It is too much work. I have better things to do. But if something is important to you (your marriage relationship), then you need to spend time there. "If couples...[ read more ]

Some things are just better left unsaid. Somethings need to be said very tenderly. Maybe while touching. With a steak in front of you. Or better yet, a steak just consumed. And wine. Most things should be thought about before spoken... and yet some of us (points at self) have a very difficult time with this rule. Our generation grew...[ read more ]