Parenting Blog

"Can you give tips on how to stay connected when you feel irritable? There's no yelling going on, but I'm not as respectful as I think I should be." - Katherine

We all have bad days.   As long as you catch yourself, apologize, and don't have them too often, the humans who love you will forgive you.  In fact, the way you handle those small relationship ruptures will teach your child some important lessons about life and love.  READ POST

 This is #7 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

"Dr. Laura, I'm great with my kids on vacation.  But most of the time, I'm just so stressed out, my default is yelling!" -- Camille

As every parent learns, you can't be a good mom or dad when you're stressed out, no matter how positive your intentions.

It's true that modern life creates stress, but it's also true that what stresses out one person may just roll off the back of another.  Each of us has a responsibility as a parent to manage our own stress.  After all, do you want your kids to have the best of you -- or what's left of you?   READ POST

This is Part 6 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child

“Don’t look at it as exercise — instead, play games and have a ton of fun! The main thing is just to get outside every day and do something you think is fun. You can play sports like soccer, basketball, or badminton. You can play games like freeze tag or ride a bike or do running races with your friends or family. You can go on hikes with your family or go swimming or paddling. Do lots of different things, and again, focus on having fun, and doing it often.” – Leo Babauta

You're a parent, so you don’t have time to exercise, right?   I can relate.  But moving our bodies is a basic part of self-care.  We can't talk about nurturing ourselves without figuring out a way to get physical.    READ POST

This is Part 3 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

"What I start to feel is not just anger appropriate to the situation, but old feelings I carry from the past.  And those feelings have nothing to do with my child or the situation.  They have come up for me to take a look at them.  They are part of me.  But they don't belong in my relationship with my child.  They have to do with me and the person who raised me."  -- Laura Davis & Janis Keyser  READ POST

This is Part 2 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

“I know one thing for sure. It is impossible to find one’s own balance from the outside in. I now know beyond a doubt that finding—and maintaining—our balance is an inside job.” – Lu Hanessian

As you go through your day, you have a running list.  Change the baby, feed the toddler a snack, teach the preschooler to pick up her toys, help the elementary schooler with homework, help the tween braid her hair, negotiate with the teen, make dinner, fold laundry, pay the bills, email the boss, connect with your spouse... the list never stops.  But have you fallen off your own list?  READ POST

"My commitment to this kind of parenting is fierce, and when I falter it is always because I have a mountain of unmet needs - usually of the basic nature (sleep, food, etc) and often including more complex like interdependence and creativity."- Jennifer

“I start yelling, and I can't stop.  Later, I feel terrible.  She was just being a kid.  And I was acting like my mother, who I still can't forgive.” -- Karen

The bad news is, having a child changes everything.  The good news is, having a child changes everything.

Seriously, having a child can be the best thing you ever did. What else offers such rich rewards while helping you grow into a more loving person?  But sometimes the rewards are elusive, and we find ourselves screaming inside "This isn't what I signed up for!"   READ POST

"If you get up one more time than you fall, you will make it through." -- Chinese Proverb

Do you ever feel discouraged?  You wouldn't be human if you didn't. 

Sometimes we all need a little help to climb out of the holes that dot the landscape of our lives.  Yes, some of these holes we dig ourselves (when we aren't watching!) with our own poor choices. Some come from the pressure and lack of support of our way of life.  Some are just biology -- we wake up tired or cranky.  And some are the gopher holes the universe has a way of putting in front of us to make us pay attention.  READ POST