Who’s in charge in your family?
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that […]
Is it old-fashioned to insist on respect?
Yesterday at a parenting workshop, two parents were discussing their discomfort around insisting their children treat them with respect. This was an uncomfortable idea for them. It seemed old-fashioned and not quite right somehow. Exploring the theme further, they discovered that both been raised with the idea “Respect has to be earnedâ€. It reminded me […]
No-one really wins a power struggle
I live very close to a primary school.  One morning as I came out my front door, Henry*, and his Granny and Grandad were getting out of their car. Henry started whining. “I don’t want to park hereâ€, Henry moaned at his Granny. My ears started tingling. “How will Granny handle this?†I wondered. “Well, […]
Now look what you’ve done!!
Last week I had a question from a parent wondering  what to do about a five year old girl who ignored her mother’s requests to stop playing with a snow-globe in the home of someone they were visiting. Fearing a breakage, this Mum upped her requests to a clear (and no doubt reasonable) insistence that […]
Should we say sorry to our children?
I was recently asked what my position on saying sorry to children was. Personally, I say sorry to my children on a regular basis. I do this because like every parent, I make mistakes. I still say and do things I regret and wish to make amends for. Most recently, I did it yesterday at […]
Rules and relationships
Rules before Relationship = Resentment & Rebellion Relationship before Rules = Respect
Be careful how you speak in front of them
… every word spoken within the hearing of little children tends toward the formation of character. Let parents bear this ever in mind. Hosea Ballou, US clergyman and writer (1771 – 1852) I used to like telling stories of bath-time battles and school-run woes. I liked hearing them too. It helped me to feel normal. I […]
