While children can be quite wonderful, our kids can also pull emotional responses out of us that leave us feeling exhausted and frustrated. This article covers the importance of taking care of your emotional health as a means of enjoying parenting more and increasing your effectiveness as a parent.

Most parents love their kids tremendously, but it can sometimes feel like there is a disconnect or uncertainty in whether kids actually experience that love. This article addresses the role of effectively conveying love as a core tenet of parenting.

Many parents find that trying to convince their kids to have more positive behaviors is either ineffective or backfires. This article addresses the strategy of behavioral shaping for parents to enhance positive behaviors and reduce conflicts when their kids are off-task. This basic parenting strategy, colloquially known as Grandma’s Rule, when consistently applied, can help life at home go more smoothly.

Some parents are at a loss if their child struggles with social skills because it seems like such a basic, naturally-acquired ability. However, many kids struggle with lagging social skills and this can result in fewer friendships, trouble learning at school or aggression. This article addresses creative strategies for helping your child.

There is growing evidence showing that yoga is beneficial for depression. Researchers are looking at biological mechanisms, but are there other factors involved? Yoga practices vary, which makes determining the mechanism of its benefit difficult. However, observing yoga from a holistic perspective, rather than only from a neurobiological standpoint, may lead to insights into how yoga helps depression.

There are several ways to earn the respect of kids. Confronting them while they are in the middle of being rude and disrespectful is not always the best way to provide feedback and get them to change their behavior. This article describes a strategy for addressing the negative behavior of kids by modeling respect and how to make an apology.

There are simple steps that you can take to motivate your child and get them rolling on the activity or project they need to be working on. Understanding time also helps kids start an activity and stay motivated by knowing how long they will have to work on it. This article addresses effective strategies for motivating children and teaching kids of nearly any age the concept of time.

Kids sometimes attempt to do things that are beyond their reach. They may not always succeed in these endeavors, however, children need to test their limits to build confidence and independence. This article addresses a framework for evaluating these situations as a parent, determining when it is appropriate to take a step back to see how things play out and when to step in to set boundaries for your kids.

The core of effective parenting is to communicate love with the right mixture of empathy, nonjudgmental communication and firmness for each child. The mixture changes depending on the temperament of the child. This article encourages parents to free themselves from rigid parenting approaches, creatively meeting the parenting needs of each child and actually having fun in the process.

Behavioral Activation is a strategy that not only helps major depression but also helps prevent mental illness. The activities and structure of behavioral activation encourage us to have a routine of healthy, uplifting and prosocial behavior. This article explains behavioral activation and how it works.

Sometimes children ask for things they can’t have. However, there is a secret solution to this challenging situation. You can give your child their wishes in fantasy in a way that costs you nothing, does not spoil your children and can actually be fun. This article explains the positive parenting strategy of the Magic Wish Game.

Art is one of the best ways to express ourselves. Engaging activities like art get children to feel and behave better. This article explains the rules of the Drawing Game, which is great for places where you are stuck waiting with your kids. Learn how to be a positive leader in your family by starting a fun drawing game with your child!

Wouldn't it be great to take a break as a parent and have some fun with your kids? You can! Special Time is about scheduling time - one parent with one child - to play with your child intentionally. Take the time to build positive interactions and create positive memories with your child. You'll be glad you did it, and you and your child will never want to give it up!