Search Results for: blog dont give your children everything

Sometimes You Just Have to Bite Your Tongue

There is something I have been finding myself doing a lot lately when I am around my teens. It’s refraining myself from saying something I may regret or that isn’t really worth saying. Now let you tell you that this is no easy feat for an opinionated person like me. However I am learning that sometimes you just have to bite your tongue. I find it a real challenge to be balanced in this area. There are times when I do need to say something, even if it results in an argument or an unhappy teen. Some things that come … Continue reading →

What To Do With Your Kid’s Gross Halloween Candy?

I suppose “gross” is a relative term, but when it comes to Circus Peanuts, Laffy Taffy and Wax Bottle candy, I exercise my parental veto power, and liberally toss out my daughter’s Halloween treats without an ounce of guilt. Actually, this year we will be donating unwanted Halloween candy to a group, which will distribute the sweet treats to children who are unable to go trick-or-treating. Other individuals are embracing the share-your-Halloween-candy concept as well. For example, dentists in New Hampshire, New Jersey and Iowa are redefining the phrase “put your money where your mouth is.” The dental experts are … Continue reading →

Give Your Child Hope

We live in a fast-paced world and we have access to so much information about what is going on all over the world. Our children see images of war, genocide, global warming and hear dire messages on a daily basis. They cannot help but be a generation who is skeptical and wary to say the very least. As parents, it is up to us to combat all of those negative messages and to try to give our children some hope that they can carry with them into the future. I truly do believe that our children need some strong doses … Continue reading →

Setting Healthy Boundaries for Your Children (4)

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The process of setting healthy boundaries in your child starts very early in life. By the time a child can say “No” he or she has long grasped the concept of personal boundaries and so it is the responsibility of the parent to let their child know one very important concept: They can’t have everything. It can be hard to say “no” to a pair of beseeching eyes but it is up to you, the parent, to be the strong one in this parent-child relationship into which you have entered. It is so easy to fall into the trap of … Continue reading →

Setting Healthy Boundaries for Your Children (3)

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In the previous article in this series we looked at the most common violation of childhood boundaries: that of discussing adult issues such as financial difficulties and marital problems with your child. The other common boundary problem involves the physical boundary violation of childhood sexual abuse. So common is this phenomenon that, by the age of 18, over 70% of females report some level of sexual abuse. This issue is covered in several articles which can be found under the category of Sexual Harassment and Abuse. Today’s article focuses on more subtle boundary violations, in particular the inability by some … Continue reading →

Setting Healthy Boundaries for Your Children (2)

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The most important gift you can give your child is a healthy set of boundaries. It is the ultimate gift of love, even though in setting boundaries, your child will probably tell you that you don’t love them. They may even tell you they hate you. But that is okay. The problem that many parents have in parenting their children is that they try to be friends with their kids. This is not possible. Parents and children are not peers and therefore cannot be true friends. That comes later, when the child matures into an adult and the parent-child relationship … Continue reading →

Setting Healthy Boundaries for Your Children (1)

In Are You Breeding a Frankenkinder we looked at the preponderance of overindulged and underdisciplined children in today’s society and how we are actually doing our children a gross disservice to “give them everything.” It’s not easy being a parent today. But it’s never been easy being a parent. Or at least, an effective one. We can blame the media for creating a world where our kids just want more and more, but in doing so, we as parents are just passing the buck and refusing to take responsibility for our own actions. Parents today are time-poor, or so we … Continue reading →

How to Protect Your Camera (From Yourself and Others)

I recently returned from a trip to Hawaii where my camera got in a serious workout snapping shots of everyone (including the dozen or so family member who flew in for our reunion) and everything (including my 3-year-old daughter trying to dangle her baby cousin from my dad’s recliner). My camera also took a beating during one of our trips to the beach and I had serious misgivings about how it would work for the remainder of our trip. Today I took it in to my local camera shop to get it assessed and have the technicians there give it … Continue reading →

TV’s in Children’s Bedrooms (2)

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I observed firsthand the problems of having TV’s in children’s bedrooms back when my daughter was in elementary school. One of the girls in her Year 4 class had one in her bedroom and she was the envy of her peers. Naturally this girl boasted about her new-found televisual independence and I’m sure there were cries of “I want one, too!” in more than our household. When I found out this girl’s older sister in Year 8 also had her own TV, as well as her younger brother in Year 3, it became almost like a scientific experiment for me. … Continue reading →

TV’s in Children’s Bedrooms (1)

I’m not a fan of TV’s in children’s bedrooms and I know not everyone will agree with me on this one, but it’s not only my personal preference. The detrimental effects of televisions in children’s bedrooms have long been a topic of interest among psychologists. The invention of the television has had a major impact on family life since it was introduced in the middle of the last century. Where once it was the norm for families to gather around the dining table at the end of the day, these days parents have to make that simple occurrence a rule … Continue reading →