Let’s say your 12-year old son is twenty minutes late. He wanted to ride his bike to a friend’s house and promised to be home by 4:00 and now it’s 4:20. The bike ride required crossing a major intersection and called into question his capability and responsibility. Was he aware enough of traffic dangers and responsible enough to be safe and come home at the appointed hour? That was the plea and debate. In the [...]
The tragic STEM school shooting here in Colorado fills us at OneFamily with a sense of urgency. We totally get the fear that this seemingly senseless act has caused parents. We don’t want to be just one more shrill voice calling for someone else to DO SOMETHING. We feel the urgency to do what we already do – support, encourage, and sustain parents in all the topics of parenting life. And, unfortunately, this has become [...]
Potential. Although we have a vague idea of what unlocked potential might mean, it is very clear what locked potential looks like - An intelligent teen that struggles with emotional instability; a gifted athlete who lacks motivation to try; a talented musician short on courage to perform; a disabled child who needs special attention. These types of examples create frustration for us observers who can envision what a joyous life they could have if they [...]
What is a daily occurrence that happens between us as parents and our children that plays a significant role in their development and maturity that, if we knew we were underperforming, we’d change immediately? At or With? There is an immense difference in effective communication when mom or dad attempts to connect with a child with something of value – instruction, love, corrective discipline, or just conversation; versus when they read from whatever script exists in [...]
Every one of us has been on the receiving end of being wronged, injured, bumped and bruised physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Alas, we have all too many times been on the giving end of causing harm or offense in some way, large or small, by accident or on purpose, thereby injuring a relationship. That’s just the way of it – Life doesn’t allow us to progress very far without reconciling when we cause a break [...]
As parents, it is a challenge and a blessing to provide the language that our children will use as the building blocks which forms their thinking structure. If we use constructive words, words of life, and positive reinforcement words when we encourage, then those are the concepts that will form their reality and the development of their character. Here are 2 concepts that have helped us with our children to develop their internal thought processes that affected their [...]
Grandparent involvement in the lives of your children is a blessing that must be managed appropriately so the joy is not offset by drama created by imbalance. If you have grandparents who cautiously seek time with your kids with a visit or they wait upon you to come see them so as not to impose, consider this ideal a wonderful balanced blessing. But occasionally the grandparent mix creates family drama that must be managed so [...]
The recent coverage of Masculinity with the Gillette ad and the released Guidelines from the American Psychological Association claims that “traditional masculinity – marked by stoicism, competitiveness, and dominance and aggression - is, on the whole, harmful”, essentially a ‘boys will be boys’ mentality is toxic. The “#me too” movement and meaningful efforts at creating a world where bullying and sexual predation isn’t acceptable is worthy of everyone’s time and attention to sort through the [...]
Moms and Dads attend OneFamily parenting classes to find answers. Should a child sleep in the parent’s bed? Is offering a reward for good behavior a bribe? If you take away a privilege, how and when should you restore it? Are timeouts really effective? How do you get your children to play nice with one another? Should you spank, and if yes, then for what reason and how should you do it? How should you [...]
As you know, we’re all about encouraging you to think about things you can do to positively affect the wellbeing of your family. So instead of just saying “Hey, take some time to write down your goals for 2019 during couch time”, we want to give you an idea that has been an absolute difference-maker for the Marr family. Dinner time discussions. If we were to list the things that made our family so connected, [...]