Why I Told My Children to Stop Saying “Sorry”

Steven Cribbs    Parenting     apologize, Children, kids, sorry

You are too loud. Sorry. You spilled your grape juice on the carpet in the room you were not supposed to have drinks in. Sorry. You hurt your brother when you hit him. Sorry. You took that without permission. Sorry. You broke the window. Sorry. You lied to me. Sorry.

photo © 2010 butupa | more info (via: Wylio)

The list could go on and on. You probably have similar stories. Your child does something wrong, makes a mistake, either by accident or intention, and then simply says “sorry” to atone for the problem.

That’s the right thing to do, isn’t it?  Yes; but, no. read more

12 Ways To Get Your Child’s Attention

Steven Cribbs    Parenting    

I am constantly learning and discovering things in my quest for better communication with my kids. Recently I shared some tips for engaging children in conversations – see Eight Tips for Effectively Communicating With Your Kids. But, before you can have a good conversation with your kids, you have to get a line through to them.  You have to get their attention. And sometimes this can be a difficult challenge.

There are so many things that gain the focus of our children – including television, video games and even things that we generally encourage like books and their imaginary world of play. I am all for learning the discipline of focusing on a task at hand; but, when our children are in the middle of these things, it can be almost impossible to engage them in any sort of meaningful conversation.

[For tips in getting the attention of a group of kids, see this helpful post: "10 Ways To Get The Attention Of Kids."]

So, what do we do? Here are twelve popular methods of moving a child’s focus from something else onto you: read more

8 Tips for Effectively Communicating With Your Child

Steven Cribbs    Parenting    

Have you ever gotten that blank stare from your child after you just finished a passionate conversation?

A few days ago, I spent a lot of time trying to help one of my children understand something that I believe to be extremely important. I used eloquent words and well crafted arguments. I felt good about the conversation and excited about how things would change…until I tried to get my child to share the conversation with the rest of the family and I got the blank stare and the infamous words, “I don’t remember what you said.” read more

Changing Your Child’s World

Steven Cribbs    Parenting     Books, child, Inspire, Learner, Reading, Relationship, Teaching

Have you ever experienced that beautiful moment? Sitting with your child and, for the first time, your child begins to read a book to you?

This is truly a beautiful moment. You hear the excitement in their voice. You begin to see the potential of a changed life as your child begins to understand a world around them that they never saw before. This is just one of the many blessings and opportunities that come when you take the time to read with your child.

There are many ways that reading with children can change their world…and yours. Here are four top picks:

read more

Someone Needs A Time-out: Is It You?

Steven Cribbs    Parenting     child, example, listen, rage, talk, Time-out

So there I am talking with my child, trying to help him understand the gravity of the problem that he just created.  Yes, he is in trouble; but, I am trying to talk things through hoping to help him make better choices next time.  And then, boom!!  Things just explode.  The anger and rage were unbelievable.  And, the negative reactions were, undeserved at the least.  A perfect time to send someone for a bit of time to re-collect themselves.

Oh, did I forget to mention?  The explosion was mine!  I got so upset over something that really was not that big of a deal.  Yes, the point was important and my child was not being respectful.  Should I have gotten that mad that quickly?  Maybe…Probably not.  But, at that point, I couldn’t back down…could I?  I didn’t want my child to think that I was wishy-washy, that he could get away with something, that he could change my mind if he just kept at things long enough, or…gulp…that I was out of line.  But, then again, the example that I had just set was exactly the sort of behavior that I did not want any of my children repeating.

Have you ever had one of those days? read more