Your mother-in-law suggested doing a gift exchange this year, at her house. Her instructions we were to give gifts only to the person whose name you drew. Any gifts you wanted to give to other family members we to be given another time, just with those people. As the gift exchange gifts were being passed out, she chose to pass out the gifts she’d bought for people.  A non-gift-exchange gift was given to every member of your family — your husband, your children, even their spouses and dates; everyone except you. You certainly notice, but you are more into giving than receiving gifts, so... (Read More ...)

Tonya is among the ranks of stay-at-home moms.  She thinks it is important to be the primary caregiver for her child throughout the early years. Although Tonya enjoys being able to see her child reach all the first milestones, she finds herself longing for the adult companionship she had with her co-workers and is dealing with loneliness, like most stay at home moms. Tonya wishes there was a way to connect with other stay at home moms so they can support one another and remain sane. Stay at home moms get no sick leave, days off, or vacation time.  They are on duty 24/7.  If you are a stay at... (Read More ...)

When your youngest child turned 18, you thought you were done raising children. Although your 18 year old has gone away to college, your 19 year old tried going away to college last year, got home-sick and decided to come back home to go to the community college. Another child has been having a hard time. He lost his job and has moved back in with you as well. So now you find yourself parenting adult children living at home again. You thought this was going to be a time to relax and have less worries. Instead, you are still staying up at night wondering when your children will be in. Sometimes... (Read More ...)

Your children have entered adulthood. You thought they were old enough to make decisions for themselves. But when you see poor decisions being made, you feel like stepping in to give advice and help them make better choices. When you try to tell them what they need to do or give suggestions on how to solve a problem responsibly, you wind up arguing, yelling and getting into power struggles. Eventually you get so tired of pleading and arguing that you either give up or give in. Why does parenting adult children seem so difficult? Follow These Easy Steps To Work Out Problems Between Parents and... (Read More ...)

Do You Enjoy Your Family Gatherings or Endure Them? Kelly dreads big dinners with her extended family; something (more accurately, someone) always manages to spoil the occasion with their negativity.  Great Aunt Sophie is especially critical, saying Kelly lets her three-year old daughter, Jaime, “get away with too much.” Jaime is a busy little girl and doesn’t always want to stop playing to eat.  As Kelly called everyone to the dinner table, everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the feast before them. Dinner began well, but Kelly steeled herself, knowing the barbs would fly her way soon. Jaime,... (Read More ...)

Dealing With Criticism? Immunize Yourself Against Toxic People Most parents will attend a family gathering or visit relatives during the Summer, around the December holidays or other time during the year. Many will also endure a chronically negative or critical relative. You know who I mean. Every family seems to have at least one. That person we avoid all year long but have to see at  family gatherings because we’re related. If you don’t have a relative like this, count your blessings — then look at your workplace or neighborhood. You probably have someone in your life that fits this bill. ... (Read More ...)

Praise for Parents “Of all the jobs and professions in the world, parenting is the most important, difficult, and potentially rewarding. It is the only job that never ends; we are parents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year, every year. Even when children are adults, we are still their parent. We don’t make money by having children; we spend it. Our paychecks can’t be measured by material standards; they are hugs, thank-you’s, smiles, and seeing our child grow and mature.” – – Excerpt from The Parent’s Toolshop Parenting advice usually focuses... (Read More ...)

How To Build Teamwork When You And Your Partner Have Different Parenting Styles Many of us have a variety of parenting partners: spouses, ex-spouses, teachers, day care workers, relatives, friends and neighbors. Each partner can have a parenting style that differs from ours. When parenting styles clash, parents may overreact, interfere or try to change the partner. Parents may also try to compensate for the imbalances of the other by being more extreme. This damages parenting partnerships, confuses children and teaches them how to manipulate better.  Learning how to cope with different parenting... (Read More ...)