"Stop touching me!!" "You stop touching me!!" "Ugh, I hate you!!" "Just leave me ALONE!!" Doors slam and I hear my youngest son wailing upstairs. With my hands in my head, I think to myself..."I just can't take this anymore." My boys have been fighting non-stop over the past few weeks. I have no idea what's going on, but it's getting to the point that I can't leave them alone for a minute before they start yelling and hitting each other. When they are getting along, the family is fun, more enjoyable and just all around … [Read more...]

Inside: Sibling Jealousy when a new baby comes into a family is a very real thing.  Get 12 simple tips to help your older child cope with a new sibling. When I was pregnant with my second child everyone starting warning me: "It’s triple the work so good luck…" And they always said it with a hint of I-know-something-you-don’t in their tone. And I couldn’t figure it out. Two kids, twice the work… How could it possibly be more work than that? I was seriously baffled. Until my second child was born and a light bulb went … [Read more...]

Inside: Learn why encouraging a growth mindset in kids is so important and how one simple change can get your child from "I can't" to "I can!"  This post contains affiliate links. My eldest daughter is extremely bright and has an incredible memory, which has served her well as a student. She knew her coins and values before she was 2 years old. She had her ABCs and sounds memorized, read well before Kindergarten, and devoured chapter books by 1st grade. She knew her addition and subtraction facts and could spell any word she saw … [Read more...]

Inside: Help your child who hates losing learn how to lose gracefully without the fits of anger and disappointment.   "I'm going to win! I'm going to win"  My 8-year-old beams from the other side of the table. With the game board covered in trains and cards strewn all over the floor, we're almost done playing our new game, Ticket to Ride. My son is ahead in points and he's downright giddy. My husband pipes up, "okay, I'm out of trains, it's time to count up our points." We start counting and moving our pieces around the … [Read more...]

Inside: Learn the best ways to stop a power struggle in its tracks and prevent them from happening in the future. "Hey buddy, can you please clean that stuff off the stairs so people don't hurt themselves?"  My friend makes a simple request to her 6-year-old son. He looks at her, giggles, says "Nope, I'm going outside!" and runs towards the back door. My friend looks at me, surprise, embarrassed, and annoyed all at the same time.  She gets up and calmly follows behind She catches up to him by the door. He laughs and says "No! … [Read more...]