These days there is so much porn online it’s almost easier for a child to stumble across it than to search for it on purpose. If your child has any access to technology – at home, at school, a friend – they are going to see porn. Not if. When. It has a way of finding kids, and often, after an accidental encounter, they begin looking for it intentionally. That is the nature of porn. Our job as parents is to try and delay the exposure as long as possible and prepare our kids for it. Finding out that your child…
Years ago, when I was in the thick of doing life with my kids, another parent told me that letting your kids go is the hardest part of parenting, because you can’t control their choices anymore. That’s true. And trying to hang on to control only messes things up. But it’s easier said than done to release our kids and allow them to be individuals that think and decide for themselves. We want guarantees. We want our kids to make the choices we would make. But children are not robots that we program. They are…
Communication is the lifeblood of relationship. Including the relationship with your teenager. The more your teenager feels understood and accepted, the better your relationship will be. The trick is to figure out how to get your teen to open up to you. Up to now, your preadolescent may have been open and shared all sorts of things with you, but once kids reach the teen years getting them to talk can be challenging. Why is it important that you still talk with your teen? Because teenagers are just like everyone else – they want to be heard, understood and accepted…
Let’s face it, having kids is demanding – physically and emotionally. This, together with all the other pressures of life, puts pressure on your marriage. And the first thing to suffer is your sex life. How do you keep this part of your relationship alive when you are too tired, too busy, too stressed? By being intentional. You have to find ways to make sex happen, or it won’t. Here are some ways you can be intentional about your sexual relationship as a couple: 1.Schedule sex. While this may sound boring and lacking spontaneity, if you don’t…
Are you the parent of teens, young adults, or adult children and wondering how you can impact their choices and decisions? They are growing up, or grown up, and you don’t have control over them anymore. And that can be tough! You wish you could step in and tell them what to do and how to do it, but you can’t. However, this doesn’t mean you have lost the ability to influence your kids. There are still ways you can positively impact their lives. Let’s take a look at the four ways you can influence your…
Should you thank your kids when they obey you? “Come here to Mommy. Thank you.” “Put your toys away. Thank you.” “Don’t touch that. Thank you.” Why do you thank people? Usually when they have done you a favour or done something nice for you, right? Is obedience a favour or a duty? What does the Bible say? “Children, obey your parents in the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1 That sounds like a command to me, not an option or a favour. Related: How to get your kids to obey in 3 easy steps Obedience is a child’s duty…
Preparing your kids to be responsible, sensible teens requires a bunch of things – many of them overlapping with things I talked about last time in staying connected with your teen. This week we’re going to look at the one thing that has the biggest impact on what kind of teen you will raise. Here it is: Self. What is self? Self is that thing that rises up when your child’s will is crossed. The “I don’t want to”. The crying when they don’t get what they want, the arching of the back when you…
If you are the parent of a teen or have raised teens you know that the teen years can be pretty turbulent. Your happy, easy-to-manage child suddenly starts doing things they never did before – like questioning why they have to do what you say. Hormones are doing their thing and your child may become moody, sensitive, tearful, or quiet for no apparent reason. You long for the prepubescent days when your kids were… not quite so complicated! It can be difficult to figure out what your child needs – one day they feel like a child and…
Did you know that at one time teenagers didn’t exist? The term teenager came into being sometime in the early 1940s. Before that, people were either children or adults. There was no in between stage. Friedrich Heer, a historian, writes about how things used to be: “Around 1800 young people of both sexes could reckon on being considered adults as soon as the outward signs of puberty made their appearance. Girls attained marriageable age at fifteen… Boys could join the Prussian army as officer cadets at the age of fifteen. Among the upper classes entry to university or to…