Nine magic words. That’s all it took to transform bickering brothers about-to-brawl into best-of-friend playmates. No finger-pointing from them. No yelling or threats from me. No arguing from any of us. Just a moment of golden silence before the older said, “Wanna play ninjas when we get home?” It all started with the after school pickup. (I don't know about you, but that time of the day seems to bring out the worst in everyone.) Brother #1: Look at the pumpkin mask I made at school. Brother #2: Oh that's what that is. I thought it was some sort of weird hat. #1: *sticks tongue out* … [Read more...]
How to Keep Your Kids Talking to You
Door Openers Last time we looked at common "door slammers" that shut down communication with our kids. Maybe you even jotted down some of your responses to the sample situations. If you’re like me, there probably wasn’t a whole lot left after you eliminated the door slammers! Most of us haven’t had great role models when it comes to listening. So what can we say to keep the conversation going? How can we talk in a way that builds trust and keeps our kids coming back to us? Keep it Simple Sometimes less really is more! By keeping your response to a minimum, you leave plenty of … [Read more...]
14 door-slammers that will make your kids stop talking to you
Would you ever slam the door in your hosts’ faces when they’ve invited you to dinner in their home? Of course not! That’s just rude. They’d hesitate before inviting you back, and they might even start to question their friendship with you. I encountered an emotional door-slamming earlier this week. I told my husband that I wanted to reschedule a trip. He has a project he’s been wanting to do that requires me and SweetPea to be away from home. Originally I picked a weekend off the top of my head, about two weeks away. As I started looking at what I wanted to do, I felt increasingly … [Read more...]