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What to Do When Your Kids Are Mean

by Marianne Griebler.
(This article is part of the Building Character series. Get free article updates here.)

Have your kids ever said something so unexpectedly mean that it made you recoil with horror?

When our second daughter, Claire, was born, it was immediately clear that Sarah, our first born, was not a fan.

She put on a good show initially – at least as a good a show as you can when you’re 2-1/2 and your world has been turned upside down. She claimed to love the baby; she would pat Claire’s head, try to feed her Cheerios and read her board books in a high-pitched, sing-songy voice.

Soon these charitable acts were interspersed with minor acts of terrorism. Pinching. Yelling. Failed attempts to tip over Claire in her baby bouncer.

I couldn’t leave the two of them alone in a room. All of my pleas to Sarah to love her sister fell on deaf ears. I envisioned a future where my home looked more like a war zone filled with mean kids than the peaceful, compassionate haven of my dreams.

The low moment came one day when Claire was napping.

Sarah was keeping me company in the kitchen while I cleaned up from lunch. As I wiped down the highchair tray, Sarah wrinkled her nose and suggested that the baby was way too messy. In the broken English employed by three-year-olds, she confided in me that the solution was to take that baby, dump her in the garbage and watch her “head crack open like an egg.”

This was the solution my three-year-old offered me to put an end to messy highchair trays, forever!

I don’t think I can fully capture the horror of the moment.

How could my sweet little angel say such a thing?

How could she be – I could barely summon the word – so MEAN?

The Words that Make Us Recoil in Horror

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101 Fun Things To Do With Kids To Enjoy Everyday Family Life

by Sumitha Bhandarkar.
(This article is part of the Lighten Up series. Get free article updates here.)

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy everyday family life (1 being the least, and 10 the most)?

If you had asked me that question a few years back, I’d have lied. My real answer would have been way too embarrassing to admit.

It’s so easy to get lost in the responsibilities of parenting that we forget to actually enjoy the journey!

We’ve come a long way since. One of the things I’ve learnt along the way is that if you remember to have fun, your day automatically becomes more enjoyable, irrespective of how mundane or stressful it may seem on the outside.

With that in mind, I’ve to put together a monster list of 101 Fun Things To Do With Kids To Enjoy Everyday Family Life. It’s a grab bag of ideas. Pick a few that you think might work for your family and give them a shot. Come back in a few days and pick a few more. And do it until you’re able to look at a perfectly routine, even boring or stressful situation and automatically find joy in it!

OK, we’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s jump right in – [Read more…]

Teenage Alcohol Abuse: One Mom’s Dreaded Reality And How to Protect Our Families

by Kimberly Muench.
(This article is part of the Healthy Families series. Get free article updates here.)

You know how every single one of us parents dreads the phone call that tells us something is wrong with our kids?

Mine came one evening in May. As I picked up the receiver I noted the caller I.D. revealed it was the eldest of my five children, Nick.

“Hi Nick!”

“Mom, I’m in trouble and I need help.”

That phone call launched a series of events in our lives which could have gone one of two ways; it could have catapulted me (as his mom) into denial and despair, or it could (and, by the grace of God, did) allow me to pull my head out of the sand and work with my son toward a positive resolution.

But it wasn’t quick, and it sure as hell wasn’t easy… in fact, it is probably one of the hardest things our family has ever gone through. Upon reflection, Nick’s problem with teenage alcohol abuse had slowly developed over a five-year period of time.

The “trouble” my son referred to during that May evening ended up being his admission of a day long fight through the physical and emotional repercussions of binge drinking to a point of a three-day blackout. Nick shared with me this wasn’t the first time it had happened to him. In fact, the cycle was becoming a regular occurrence in his life, and he really wanted help to turn things around.

After my initial shock and disbelief, I realized I had only one choice: set aside my own anxiety and shame as a mother for having missed all of the signs put directly in front of my face over the past several years and, instead to invest my energy into learning how to help my twenty-year-old son (at the time, living 1,200 miles from our home) develop a plan to turn his life around. [Read more…]

7 Habits of Families Who Consistently Eat Healthy (Without Nagging or Drama)

by Anne Ricci.
(This article is part of the Healthy Families series. Get free article updates here.)

Have you ever gotten totally excited about eating healthy meals with your family, got started with unparalleled enthusiasm, unrelenting energy, and then… everything seemed to evaporate into thin air?

Long hours, a commute, the 2-year-old’s tantrums, a finicky 8-year old, and your healthy optimism slowly gave place to frozen TV-dinners, skipped breakfasts, and take-out four times a week.

You’re not alone!

Eating healthy on a consistent basis takes time and dedication; and most working parents are already struggling to keep the balance between “being available” to their kids and “getting things done”.

So, how can you manage to consistently have a healthy diet and enjoy delicious food, while avoiding both nagging and drama at the dinner table?

Here are 7 powerful habits of families who consistently eat healthy. By following some of these (start by picking two or three that work best for you), you will slowly create the healthy and joyful family of your dreams.

[Read more…]

How to Be Present and Really Enjoy Kids

by Megan Headley.
(This article is part of the Mindful Parenting series. Get free article updates here.)

Did you ever notice how pregnant women and parents with little kids seem to naturally attract all kinds of unsolicited advice?

When I was pregnant, so many people told me, “Try to enjoy your child. You’ll be amazed at how quickly the time goes.”

What exactly does that even mean?

I wondered for a bit, but ultimately like so much other unwarranted wisdom sent my way in those long months of pregnancy, I cast it aside.

And, for the first three months of her life, I did think that I was enjoying my daughter.

It’s true, I was a bit anxious to get back to work and to taming the garden, and the holidays were just around the corner, and… well, there was always something.

Sometimes, I would even think to myself, how exactly does one enjoy the 3 a.m. shrieking that never ends, the explosive diapers, the teething that gets worse with every tooth?

However, I remember clearly the moment when everything changed.

[Read more…]

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The Words that Make Us Recoil in Horror

However, I remember clearly the moment when everything changed.

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