30 Seconds for Hope:
Have you puzzled over Suzie’s protest? Or Johnny’s pout? And then wondered, “Whoa! Where did that attitude come from?”
Have you reflexively commanded, “Change your attitude”? But what does that even mean?
I was slow to realize that children can’t just magically poof themselves into Continue reading “The “Change Your Attitude” Time Bomb (vs. Change Your Perspective)”
30 Seconds for Hope: Everyone is significant. Even though children don’t contribute much to society (except for contributing messes to clean!), every child has intrinsic value. As I watched my first mentor create enjoyable activities Continue reading “Five Priceless Gems from My Mentor Moms: #1 – A Lesson from the Nursery”
30 Seconds for Hope: Do you ever wonder if you are following the right path on how to raise a child? Do you feel mystified by all the conflicting advice? For every question you’ve ever asked, it seems a multitude of answers abound (which can be so confusing). Yet all over the world Continue reading “Five Priceless Gems from My Mentor Moms: #2 – Two Words”
30 Seconds for Hope: Do your children talk almost non-stop? Do your ears get tired? The prattle of children can feel like background noise that’s always there (and readily tuned out). Yet we know that kids express things they consider valuable, so how can we hear their heart? A friend gave me two keys Continue reading “Five Priceless Gems from My Mentor Moms: #3 – Stop and Stoop”
30 Seconds for Hope: I have learned so much from moms who mentored me. One of them, Mardean Martindale, alerted me that children cycle through various stages. It’s a given. If we’re not aware of stages, Continue reading “Five Priceless Gems from My Mentor Moms: #4 – Don’t Be Shocked by Normal”
30 Seconds for Hope: Are you in the middle of some kid-induced troubles? Are you hoping those troubles will end soon? Well, I learned from a mentor mom that the end may not be what you think. I gained a realistic calibration from Lois Allen, and, ironically, her reality check bolstered my hopes by Continue reading “Five Priceless Gems from My Mentor Moms: #5 – The “Troubles Exchange””
30 Seconds for Hope: Here’s a puzzle…sometimes bad parents end up with good children (what?)—and, on the other hand, some good parents end up with bad children (plus lots of blame from society). Yet often books on parenting and conversations on child-raising, and even mommy blogs, imply that good parenting skills will produce good children. What gives? Frequently commentary on parenting springs from Continue reading “The “Good Parent” Controversy – Influence vs. Determinism”
30 Seconds for Hope: Fears and dangers are real! So a downward spiral of worry is hard to shake. But I’ve learned a simple trick that creates benefit out of worries—a swimming pool analogy that reminds me to jump to overriding truths. Whenever I recognize I’m worried, I don’t guilt myself about being worried but instead just say, “Time to jump!” Worries can become helpful reminders that Continue reading “Use This One Trick To Transform Worry into Benefit (Hint: Jump!)”
30 Seconds for Hope – Do you know a mom who is awake most nights with a wailing baby? Maybe it’s been for weeks—or maybe more? Or maybe you’re in that place right now? The arrival of a colicky baby can be quite a shock, and soon you fight despair. It takes courage to get through those unrelenting days and nights. I found courage through Continue reading “The Upside in the Downside of a Non-Sleeping, Inconsolable Baby”
30 Seconds for Hope – Children get compared, and usually some child comes up short. Slower development. Not as smart. Behaviorally challenged. Have you ever suffered the sting of someone unfavorably comparing your zebra child with the horse herd? Yet differences aren’t wrong. They’re just… different. To be protected from those comparison zaps, Continue reading “Z is for Zap the Zebra: The Sting of Comparison (and the Zap Vest)”
30 Seconds for Hope 