Tell Them What You Want Instead of What You Don't Want

It's far easier for children to know how to act when you tell them what you would like them to do. For example, "Please walk in the house." versus "Stop running!"

If your children are jumping on the couch, avoid saying "Don't jump on the couch!". Instead explain "I see you have a lot of energy. You can jump as much as you want on the floor." Take your children by the hand and lead them off the couch and onto the floor. Join them in a little jumping if you feel like it!

This idea works for kids and adults alike. Recently I was at a community college where I ran into a number of signs hung up on stairways and railings declaring "This is NOT a bike rack!" Clearly people with bikes had parked them there and were now being warned not to do that. However, there was no sign of a bike rack anywhere! It would have been far friendlier to have a sign indicating where the bike racks were located and asking people to please park their bikes there.

Ask "Is there an unlocked gun in your house?"

In America, one out of three homes with children has a gun, many kept unlocked or loaded. Every year thousands of kids are killed and injured as a result.

Parents ask all sorts of questions before their children visit other homes. The Asking Saves Kids (ASK) Campaign encourages parents to add one more question to this conversation: “Is there an unlocked gun in your house?” It’s a simple question, but it has the power to save a child’s life. The ASK Campaign was created in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Across the country, it has successfully inspired an estimated 19 million households to ask if there are guns where their children play.

June 21st is National ASK Day. Held annually on the first day of summer, a season when children spend more time in other homes, ASK Day reminds parents about the importance of ASKing if there is an unlocked gun where their children play. This ASK Day, pledge to ASK at www.askingsaveskids.org. You can also learn about more ways to get involved, and how you can spread the ASK message, both on ASK Day and year-round.

Teens Standing Against Bullying with Their Music

When a child is bullied and feels like he doesn't have any friends, life is bleak. When Colin Cunningham was turning 11 his mom asked him if he'd like a party. He felt like it was pointless because he didn't have any friends to invite. That's when his mom created a Colin’s Friends Facebook page where people could send him encouraging words ... a wildly successful idea.

The indie band, Galvanized Souls, decided to take a stand against bullying by writing the song "Carry On". The touching video for their song features Colin Cunningham. Teens like these give us all hope.





Developing Relationship Skills Needed to Succeed

Are your kids developing the relationship skills they need to succeed? Building and maintaining relationships is essential for your kids’ success and happiness. Kids who lack enough positive relationships in their lives are in relationship poverty – a place no child wants to be.

Are relationship skills easy to learn? No! They take a lot of practice with many different people and situations.

How important are relationship skills? They are vital to your child’s success. When you consider the 50% divorce rate or the fact that most people who fail at a job do so due to a lack of soft skills not technical skills, it is clear strong interpersonal skills are both crucial and challenging.

Helping Your Child Develop a Strong Foundation


Your relationship with your child is the foundation on which they will build all other relationships. No matter what your children’s age, you can strengthen your relationship by spending more time with them.

(finish reading Developing Relationship Skills Needed to Succeed article on the Priceless Parenting site)

Getting the Support You Need as a Parent

What parenting support would you ideally like? Many of us live away from our families and feel very alone in raising our kids. One mom wrote the parenting mantra seems to be “every person for themselves”, not “it takes a village”.

Given your situation and your children’s needs, how do you get the support you need? My husband and I live in Seattle 1600 miles from our families in Minnesota and truly missed not having family close by. We managed to get back to Minnesota once or twice a year so the kids would know their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.

While these vacation times with family were fun, the rest of the time we were on our own. We found the parenting support we needed in local parenting classes, friends, other parents at our kids’ schools, a church school program, sport coaches and neighbors.

Cultivating the support you need as a parent takes time and energy. How do you get the parenting support you need?


Sugared Cereal Is Not Healthy For Kids

Did you know that  sugared cereals have more sugar per serving than frosted cakes or donuts? Yikes! Dr. Michael Greger's article, &qu...