Teaching Responsibility Through Chores

We didn’t have a lot of chores growing up. Every Saturday we had to help clean the bathrooms, but that was about it. We helped a little here and there, but in the end, we didn’t do a whole lot to help around the house when we were kids. My mother tried, but after battling grumpy children for a couple years she finally gave up. In very little time, she had six spoiled teenagers who didn’t know how to cook or clean for themselves. I was the only one who had a consistent job through high school, and the others … Continue reading →

Getting Your Kids to Listen to You

I’ve been a little frustrated with my son lately. It seems like I have to ask him ten times to do anything, and even then he still won’t do it. He’s unbelievably stubborn; and too smart for his own good. That whole reverse psychology thing doesn’t work with him anymore. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve lost my cool with him before when he won’t do what he’s told, much less acknowledge that he’s even been asked to do anything. He’s a pro at ignoring. After our nightly shower battle, I finally decided to do a little research … Continue reading →

Are You Raising an Entitled Child?

It’s no secret that kids today have more than ever before. The majority of the elementary school classrooms I walk into have children with much nicer phones than I have. They also have ipods and all sorts of other things we didn’t have as children. They have no concept of the value of a dollar because things simply get handed to them without any expectation. As a parent we want to provide our children with as much as we can, but we also want to teach them the value of hard work. If you feel that your child may be … Continue reading →

What To Do About Bullies

My son is being bullied at preschool nearly every day, in fact, almost all the kids are. This little boy is younger than all the other kids, and frankly isn’t even supposed to be in the preschool room, but was so hard to handle that they kicked him out of the toddler room and sent him in with the big kids hoping things would be better. Needless to say, they’re not. The teachers are getting beat up, the kids are getting beat up, and my son isn’t enjoying preschool the way he once was. Bullies are becoming more and more … Continue reading →

Kids Have Love Languages Too

I was lucky enough to be blessed with a child who has the same love language I do. We both value quality time above all else. While we both show each other love in multiple ways, nothing says, “I love you” more than spending time together. As a busy single parent there isn’t always a lot of time to sit down just the two of us and play, but I have found that when I make time for the little things, not only does our relationship grow stronger, but he also behaves better as well. When my son feels important … Continue reading →

Encouraging Kindness

It’s been snowing a lot here in Salt Lake. We probably got a good foot in the last week and with the way this winter has gone, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it just kept coming. One of the downsides to the never-ending snow is that the driveways and sidewalks need to be shoveled almost constantly. This week our sweet next door neighbor not only did our driveway but all of our sidewalks as well. It was such a pleasant surprise to go out to my car and not get stuck in the driveway this time. We have … Continue reading →

Beating the Odds

Divorce has a wide array of effects on children. They are certainly faced with more hardships than your average child in a two parent home and have had to overcome things in their young life that they never should have had to endure. It can be difficult at times and affects all children differently. We’ve all heard the typical stereotypes of children from these broken homes. They don’t do as well in school, they are more likely to have behavior problems, they may struggle with their future relationships, and they are more likely to end up in jail. As a … Continue reading →

Will It Ever End?

My little brother left on an LDS mission in November. I must admit I felt some relief at his departure because I had hoped that would mean that the drama with his father would at least decrease in his absence. Unfortunately that has been far from the case. My heart aches at what his father is putting him through in an already difficult situation. After seeing some of the things he has been saying since leaving on his mission I am appalled at the pure selfishness emanating in each letter. Coming from a divorced family there are so many difficult … Continue reading →

Love Makes a Family

Logan got a little spoiled with books this Christmas, thanks to Mommy’s thrift shop rummaging. I was tempted to be an indian giver when I fell in love with one of them, but luckily he is a good sharer. As we read the book I felt as if it was written just for us, so much so that it brought me to tears. It is about a single mother who is raising a little girl on her own. One day the little girl comes home from school and decides she wants a “real family,” and storms off next door. They … Continue reading →

Gifts for the Other Parent

Christmas time is all about the gift of giving, but when it comes to presents for the ex, things get a little tricky. It has always been important to me for Logan to have the opportunity to give his dad something for Christmas, birthdays, and other such holidays. The first year his dad seemed to feel the same way. Though neither of us had much money, we both made an effort to take Logan to pick something out for the other. It meant a lot to Logan to be able to give us something, since he couldn’t do much on … Continue reading →