Regular reader and commenter Bipette recently posted a question asking how I managed to get my kids to talk to me about their issues. It was an interesting question, and one I pondered all day today. I was still pondering it when I rocked Dora before bed tonight and we ended up talking for an hour—notwithstanding the fact that I told her it would be a short session tonight, not a long one. We talked until we reached a logical point to table the discussion... more

I learned many things while parenting Amy, although lots of them were tools and techniques I would have been quite happy to forego adding to my repertoire. One of those learned responses involved cutting Amy off at the pass when she attempted to duck, evade, avoid, redirect, deny or circumvent a simple, straightforward question. I would make some basic inquiry; she would start her shenanigans. Eventually I developed the habit of asking my question, giving her a chance to answer, and when her mouth opened and a torrent of unrelated words began to emerge, I followed... more

So, October has come and gone … It has been two months since Dora’s arrival. I’m tired! Have I mentioned I’m tired? I fixed a cup of coffee before heading out with trick-or-treaters last night, just to insure I didn’t lapse into a coma before the festivities were over …

On Saturday night, Beth and Dora participated in “Trunk or Treat,” compliments of our local community organization. Dora had been so stinky the preceding week that I had decreed she could trick-or-treat one of the two times we were going out … the Trunk-or-Treat event or on Halloween night.... more

A reader asked several questions regarding my post about Dora’s manure moving adventures this past weekend. Specifically, the reader inquired about why I required the child to stand in a certain spot when they were done; how much of an explanation I gave about what I required; and whether or not the child was resentful if they received little or no explanation and... more

Dora finished her required number of bags of manure, ceased her hollering and was actually quite proud of herself when she came inside tonight to clean up and eat dinner. One of her favorite foods—watermelon—was waiting for her. We had a good talk about how her afternoon unfolded and what choices she had made. Thus far this week she has tried to challenge me with eating slowly, screaming, not doing her chores, some really poor hygiene choices, and various other negative... more

My friend Amy that accompanied me to the Pops Concert the other night (preceded by Uno’s Pizza, but after spontaneously researching the calorie content in ½ a regular ‘Shroom pizza, I will never freely eat one again!) Amy has a great deal of stress occurring in her life right now, and it builds upon stress from a RAD child that nearly imploded her family (the child is no longer in her... more

After our somewhat challenging start to the day this morning, I redeemed myself (hopefully) with the girls by having banana bread just ready to come out of the oven when they arrived home early from school. Today was an “early release” day where they get out at 2 PM. This is a once-a-month deal where the teachers get some extra preparation time. We used the extra time to go horseback riding. It was a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day. Dora was able to use her brand new riding helmet that... more

A long time ago, I heard a story of an enterprising mom who grew very weary of her son’s constant lying. One day she caught him in yet another lie, and she told him, “I owe you a lie!” Some time passed, and one day he approached her about having a bunch of his friends over on Saturday night. She readily agreed, and he invited his friends and planned his party. A short time before the party was to begin, his mom looked at him and said, “Remember that lie I owed you? I’m paying you back right now. There will be no party.” This young man had to call all his friends... more

Continuing with some of the ideas mentioned in the article The correlation between sense of humor and mental health, the following paragraph really grabbed my attention:

People with great mental health have a high self-esteem, strong sociable encouragement, and are members of warm, compassionate families (Zeman, 2003). Maintaining mental health over time is extremely important; however, risk factors exist for mental illnesses. Preserving mental health can be accomplished by three characteristics.... more

Did you know that a sense of humor is a sign of good mental health? Amy has NO sense of humor. She doesn’t get jokes; she doesn’t make jokes.

An article entitled The correlation between sense of humor and mental health. states that:

Individuals with a greater sense of humor are more motivated, cheerful, trustworthy, and have a higher self-esteem. They are also more likely to develop close, social relationships (Kelly, 2002).

… humor corresponds... more