10 Positive Discipline Tips I Learned from my Counselor
“How are you doing today?” my counselor asked as I entered her office. I wondered if she noticed the smudged mascara on my face and assumed, correctly, that I had been crying. “I’m stressed,” I said, skipping the niceties and and plopping on the floral couch. “My kids are making me insane lately, and I am especially struggling with my son. He’s just so strong willed and independent and emotional and we’re having trouble getting him listen to us and I’m running out of ideas of what to do.” Just this morning, I went on, I had to navigate the meltdown that happens every time I ask him to…
Be Present, Pursue, and Practice Empathy – Parenting Skills for Weathering Your Child’s Inevitable Emotional Episodes
When we take the time and energy to be present with our children, pursue them, and practice empathy during their emotional episodes, not only do we help teach them how to work through their emotions, we reap a relational reward. I was reminded of this last week. Let me tell you the story, and what I took away from it.Â
Levi – A Birth Story
It wasn’t my idea to get pregnant. We were on vacation, taking a walk along the beach, when my husband nonchalantly said he had had a dream the previous night that we had a little boy. “I was throwing him up in the air and catching up, and everyone loved him,” he said. I wasn’t sure how to receive this information, and am not sure what I said in response, but I saw a vision of the scene playing out before me, my husband tossing up a small child in the air, laughing and smiling. I smiled for a moment, too, until Kevin said, “Let’s have a baby.” An…
On Mother’s Day
It is calm. Outside, a cool shower is freshening the world. The birds are quiet, Nesting over their young, Prioritizing protection over singing, over making themselves known. My own are upstairs, nestled in our bed, silent except for the gentle swell of their breathing. When they awake, the calmness will break, and a flourish of life will take its place. Today, I am to be recognized, for having given birth; for continuing on Eve’s legacy; for attempting to raise children who will somehow contribute sweetly to the great symphony of life. This duty, which is paradoxically both magnificent and mundane, cannot be fully appreciated by anyone who has not felt the…
8 Reasons why Natural Childbirth is Worth it
We are a part of a culture that perpetuates the narrative that birth is scary, that women are dependent on the experts to bring a baby into the world, and that a woman should accept all interventions at the advice of said experts. Unfortunately, the increase of interventions has increased the incidence of negative outcomes. There are, of course, situations in which intervention is necessary and life-saving. But for most women, a natural birth - a vaginal birth void of conventional interventions - could lead to a more positive birth experience. The caveat? One must be ready and willing to embrace the pain. Which is hard. Believe me, I know:…
