Parenting by Strengths

Should You Discipline Someone Else's Child?

Imagine that your middle-school child has a friend over and the other teen keeps texting other people while your child sits there. What do you do?

Imagine that all the cousins are playing in your living room. They’re having a good time wrestling and roughhousing and your nephew accidentally breaks your vase. When you ask him about it, he lies to you. What do you do?

Disciplining other people’s kids makes most parents squeamish. For good reason!Different families have different values. Some people feel uncomfortable imposing their values on others. You may feel like you’ve crossed a boundary.

Disciplining your own child in public can be hard enough, but when it’s someone else’s child it’s doubly hard. You may feel that you’re not responsible for that child’s behavior. You may also worry about embarrassing the other parent or implying that s/he is a “bad” parent.

Or maybe you’re one of those people who believes “It takes a village.” You feel as an “elder” in the community it’s your job to help keep children in line. When they’ve misbehaved, you have no trouble telling them to stop the bad behavior.

There’s no right and wrong answer to this dilemma. It’s really a matter of personal choice,

Intersex: what do I tell my kids?

by Amy Johnson, MSW

Most of us learn in high school biology that a person is either born with XX or XY chromosomes, making them a girl or a boy.  Lately, news in the field of athletics has brought this over-simplified version of a person's sex to the forefront, and has sparked conversations about what, exactly, determines if one is a boy or a girl.  Here is important information so you can give educated, informed responses to your children's questions.

17 Secrets for Cutting the Family Budget

I don’t know about you but my family budget has really been squeezed with school clothes, school supplies and activities fees for the kids this fall. The holidays are looming and I want to figure out how to save more money.

 

I went to a pro, Liss Burnell, founder of www.budget101.com, and asked her to put together “17 Secrets to Cutting Your Family Budget.” Liss agreed and she’ll share the 17 solutions on “Real Parents. Real Solutions.” on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 12 CT. You can listen live or listen to the replay at your convenience by clicking on this link: http://www.tinyurl.com/realparentsrealsolutions .

 

Swine Flu/ H1N1--- How to Talk about this with Kids

By Mary Ivory

If you have been near a TV during the news broadcasts these past few weeks, I am sure you are beginning to tense a bit when you hear the lead stories announcing the topic of Swine Flu. The beginning of the new school year is always a point of transition and heighten energy in household with students, but this year the energy is a bit higher with the possibility of a flu that is pandemic. I am suggesting we take a moment to look at our character strengths and think about how they can be applied in this situation. 

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of character strengths, this moment is a great time to find out how to use your best, most comfortable self in challenges. Kids and other will want assurance and guidance, so lets do this right.

Reduce Mommy Guilt

  Do you ever feel guilty for:

• Yelling?
• Spending time with your spouse?
• Feeding kids less than perfect meals?
• Scheduling mom time?
• A messy house?
• Working?

A whopping 96% of moms feel guilty about these issues and more.  If you’d like to feel happier and reduce the guilt you feel in these areas and more, tune in Wed., Sept. 16 to “Real Parents. Real Solutions.” at 12 CT (or listen to the replay later) at www.tinyurl.com/realparentsrealsolutions.  

"Great Ways to Connect as a Couple" Radio Show

You don’t want to miss the “Great Ways to Connect as a Couple” radio show this week. Tune in at Noon CT on Wed., Sept. 9 (or listen to the replay at your convenience) and you’ll gain great ideas for connecting with your other half on a deeper level that may only take small investments of time. You’ll get great, low-budget, fun, date ideas to spice up your love life and you’ll learn tips for making this happen.

If you’re like most couples, your relationship with each other often comes in last place with the demands of raising kids and working. For many couples it’s been 17 weeks since their last date! Would you like to do better than the national average? Then listen and call in at 1-866-472-5787 on Wed., Sept. 8 at Noon CT. Here’s the link for the broadcast: www.tinyurl.com/realparentsrealsolutions .

9 Multicultural Books Your child(and you) Would Like to Read

by Janice VanBuren,Ph.D

Here are some great books to add fun and focus to the discussion of multicultural topics with kids!

1. Bridges, R.  (1999).  Through my eyes.  New York:  Scholastic.  Ages 9

 This is a memoir of Ruby Bridges who at 6 years of age became the first black student ever to attend, escorted by federal marshals, the all-white William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 14, 1960.

2.Coles, R.  (1995).  The story of Ruby Bridges.  New York:  Ages 4-8   Scholastic.

The story of Ruby Bridges, the sole African American child to attend a New Orleans elementary school after court-ordered desegregation in 1960 by the research psychiatrist Coles.