Managing Fears

When it comes to managing fear, it is important to know that there are different types of fears. They can be real, imagined, or perceived.

When Our Kids Become Adults

There can always be clearer communication and deeper understanding between parents and children. Parents appreciating their adult children for the wisdom they have can assist the relationship in those areas.

Emotion-Coaching Parents

Emotion-coaching parents are those who see their child’s emotional reaction as an opportunity to engage with them, honor the emotion, and coach them through the accurate and appropriate expression of the emotion – especially the negative ones.

Family Time: Quality vs. Quantity

For many families, schedules start to get busier this time of year. Not only is school starting back up, but so are all of the extracurricular activities that come along with it. Between football practice, piano lessons, AP exams and parents’ increased work schedules, the coming of the school year often means less quality time spent together for many families.

Cultivating Connection in Your Family

Take time to explore which family bonding activity works best for your family and notice how making space for family time can impact your feelings of connectedness.

Blending Two Families Together

It’s good to ask, “What can I expect when my partner and I marry and we blend our two families together?” When blending two families together expect there will be an adjustment period for everyone in the family. Here is a quick glance at how to plan for blending two families together.

Seven Tips for Co-Parenting

A child can easily get trapped in the war and conflict of two parents getting a divorce. Some thoughts of children caught between parental conflicts could be “I need to fix the problem,” or “I’m the reason they are fighting.” Neither of which are true from an adult perspective but children experience divorce much different than adults. The best gift you can give your child when divorcing their parent is to do so respectfully and peacefully in the child’s presence.

Early Family Interactions and Your Listening Skills

listening, listening well, family listening

We often intrinsically know whether we feel listened to and understood, ignored, dismissed, or misunderstood by another person. But how often do we intentionally think about our capacity to listen in relationships – whether that’s work, family, romantic, social, or spiritual – and how often do we reflect on the connection between our early family experiences and how they taught us to listen (or not)? Here are a few questions to help you explore how you have learned to listen (and what you expect from other listeners).

One Hour to Becoming a Better Spouse and Parent

We all know the importance of good habits. As we head back in to the school year, it’s not uncommon for parents to begin helping their children by establishing schedules that include things like regular homework time or a routine bedtime. However, the start of the school year can be a great time for parents to re-examine their own schedules and routines as well. One area that can be particularly helpful for many couples is to establish some routines or habits around spending time together.