It’s no secret that the teen years are difficult. They’re hard for everyone! Parents, teachers, and even younger siblings that have a teenage brother or sister (believe me – I am the youngest of 3 kids, I have really lived through this!). But, most importantly, these years are hard on the teens themselves! However, there is also so much GOOD and beauty (between the braces and acne marks) that comes from being a teenager! Read below to discover how you can better understand and connect with your teen – all from a teenager’s perspective….
How to Make Your Life Easier (With Tweens/Teens)
If you aren’t having your tweens and teens cook dinner for the family regularly, you are doing them and yourselves a disservice. It really does make life easier.
In our house, this started out of desperation. I was in the car from school pickup through dinner time every day of the week with one girl or the other. And if I had to hear one more complaint about the lack of home cooked meals, I was going to lose my last marble.
Of course you want a from-scratch, hot meal on the table every night over which to leisurely dine and bond as a family. But you also have busy kids who can’t drive and need to go to voice lessons, swim practice, and so-and-so’s house to work on this week’s group project (oh, don’t EVEN get me started on group projects). How are you supposed to pull all of this off?
I’ll tell you how.
Each of your kids has at least one activity free evening home, right? And they are now old enough to stay home alone while you haul around their sibling(s), yes? (We started the stay-home-alone thing at age 12, but every house is different). Ok. Read below to learn my secret to making life easier….
Parenting Tips: How To Say No to Your Kids Without Losing Your Mind
I am an over-explainer. It’s a weird trait for an introvert, but I feel that my kids will benefit from a full explanation and understanding of situations, decisions, and circumstances. But sometimes the questions are just. Too. MUCH! My husband and I went to a parenting talk given by the brilliant psychologist, John Rosemond, many years ago. We learned a lot, but the simplest, most lasting take-away for me was his teaching on how to say “No” to kids.
He suggests that when you say “No”, and your child asks for a reason or explanation, one of the five following answers always fits the bill:…
The Perfect Consequence for Your Kids
How many times have you said “If only I had the perfect consequence? If you’re like the rest of us – hundreds. Parents are on a quest for the perfect consequence, the one that really drives home your point so that your child will do exactly what you want him to do….
Potty Training Certificate – Free Printable
Download, save, and print your own copy of this free potty training certificate printable!
Continue reading below for more potty training help…
Many parents dread the thought of potty training, and i can be hard to know where to start. This is why we have compiled a whole bunch of parenting advice on the topic of potty training!
GENTLE POTTY TRAINING
12 PARENTING TIPS FOR POTTY TRAINING SUCCESS!
Potty Training Help
Shari covers the following topics in more detail in her article: Gentle Potty Training – 12 Parenting Tips for Potty Training Success
- Be sure to plan ahead before potty training
- Take things one step at a time
- Find a potty that works for your kid
- Use the naked method for potty training
- Get creative with activities while learning to use the potty
- Make potty training fun
- Use the right amount of praise for your particular child
- Have your child drink plenty of liquids while potty training
- Trust your kids and don’t pester them too much
- Give gentle potty reminders
- Figure out the transition to clothes after potty training
- Find a great travel potty
POTTY TRAINING ADVICE
HOW I POTTY TRAINED ALL 3 OF MY KIDS IN A FEW DAYS
Learn how one mom of three kids potty trained each child in just a few days! Keep in mind that every child is different, but in this parenting article We are sharing strategies that have worked well for each of her children – despite their differences.
Potty Train Quickly
Karissa covers the following topics in detail in her article: Potty Training Advice – How I Potty Trained All 3 of My Kids in a Few Days
- Make sure your child is developmentally ready to potty train
- Set the stage for potty training
- Remain patient while teaching your child to use the potty
- Stay dedicated to the process of potty training
- Just go straight to underwear
- Offer rewards when potty training (like this potty training certificate)
- Occasional setbacks while learning to use the potty
For more on this topic, check out the full Potty Training & Pacifiers collection
Printable Sticker Charts
Printable sticker charts can be a wonderful way to work on your child’s behavior one skill at a time! For example, if your child is struggling with sharing their toys, you could use a reward chart to work on this particular behavior. If they share a toy, they get a sticker! When they fill up their behavior chart, they get a pre-selected prize.
It is a wonderful, visual way to help your child understand the expectations & allow them to be an active participant in the process of improving their behavior.
For more on this topic, check out the full All About Toddlers, Child Behavior, and Free Printables collections
Below are 8 different designs for printable sticker charts that you can print out for free! Then be sure to continue reading below for insight into how to best implement behavior charts in your own home.
How to Use Printable Sticker Charts
Now that you’ve downloaded your own reward charts, how do you use them? The short answer is that you can use behavior charts for any behavior that your child seems to be struggling with currently!
Focus on One Behavior at a Time
The keys to using reward charts successfully is focusing on one behavior at a time. We want to narrow in on a specific area that your child clearly understands instead of being too broad and overwhelming.
A sticker chart for “being good” is way too vague for a child. They will get frustrated quickly when it seems so difficult to earn stickers.
A sticker chart for putting away toys is much more manageable and clear. You can set realistic expectations around how many toys your child should put away and how much you’ll help them based on their age and level of development.
But the goal is to keep things simple!
Keep Things Positive
Keeping rewards system positive is also extremely important! It can be tempting to take away points for negative behaviors, but this method often causes children to give up entirely.
Imagine earning a hard-earned paycheck only to have some of it taken back the following week because you made a mistake… You’d be downright angry!
Sure, a sticker is not quite the same as a paycheck; but… it is amazing how important it feels to children to be making progress.
We want to frame reward systems positively, and we want to maintain that positive approach to behavior management.
Let’s go back to our toy example… Your child can earn 1 sticker for their reward chart for every 5 toys they put away without complaining. If they put away 10 toys, they get 2 stickers. If they put away less than 5 toys, then get 0 stickers. If they put away 5 toys but whine the whole time, they get 0 stickers.
But! Under no circumstance do they lose stickers off of their behavior chart.
They keep what they’ve earned – fair and square. And they begin to learn that they are responsible for their own progress!
Looking for more parenting advice?
Our goal at Adore Them is to provide personal stories and resources in the hopes that it will make your own parenting journey more enjoyable! We fully understand that there are (many) difficult moments that occur while raising a family, but we also believe in taking a proactive approach. How can we troubleshoot the areas where we are struggling the most? How can we better understand our children so that we can get back to genuinely enjoying them?
Check out the following parenting articles for more insight
Child Discipline and The Lessons I Have Learned
Helpful Reminders to Set Expectations
A List of Appropriate Chores by Age to Encourage Responsibility
And much more in the full Child Behavior, All About Toddlers, and the Free Printables collections
Simple Sports Keepsake Display
When my son started playing soccer, he was five years old. We decided to try out different options available for a young competitive kid who loved to run and kick. Now that he’s played every spring and fall for the last three years, we have started to accumulate medals, trophies and memorabilia. We recently decided to create a keepsake sports display. Check out this simple DIY guide, along with photo examples, below….
To People Who Want To Praise Their Kids But Can’t Get Started
There are many ways to build positive behavior growth and healthy relationships with our children. One way is through delivering reinforcers, or rewards, for good behavior. Another way is through sweet pet names and praise.
Everyone uses praise and pet names. Pet names are a fun way to bond with those around us, whether it’s our spouse, friends, or children. However, have you stopped to think about whether your kiddo’s pet names might actually be harming their self-image? Or harming the way they interact with the world around them? Unfortunately, just like with reward delivery, pet names and praise are easy to get wrong….
Top Parenting Tip for Raising Teens
When I was still a mom of little girls, an older friend of mine was dealing with teenagers. I asked her for a piece of advice regarding raising teens. She calmly said, “When they tell you something, don’t let your expression show what you may really be thinking of the information that they are sharing with you.” She gave me some examples, and I thought this will definitely be useful. And now that I have a teen, and even a tween, I have put what she said into practice many times….
Child Discipline and The Lessons I Have Learned
I know that overall the topic of “Child Discipline” can be a very touchy subject. But it is something that is important to discuss.
First, let me say that my experience only comes from raising my three children, who are all still under the age of 10. I am not judging you, your parenting styles, or your beliefs. I am only writing this to share what I have learned works best for our little family, and hope that maybe it will inspire you or give you something to consider. Or at the very least, let you know that you are not alone on this parenting journey!…