How a Simple Apology Can Demonstrate the Significance of Easter

Easter is the most pivotal moment in our Faith, remembering the sacrifice our Heavenly Father made so that we may have a relationship with Him. This is an unimaginable sacrifice for us as parents to wrap our heads around. As Christians, teaching this to our children is necessary, but how? In the past we have talked about many ways for us to talk to our children about Easter. We have talked about the “Resurrection Eggs,” which help parents of small children walk through the Easter week in a creative and age-appropriate way. We have mentioned “Resurrection Rolls,” another age appropriate […]

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How to Keep Your Parenting Balance

Much of life is about balance, finding a balance between work and play or maintaining a balanced budget. In the Parenting on Purpose process, nothing is more important than the balance between relationship and discipline. The Right Parenting Balance The right disciplinary program gives a child the ability to discipline himself eventually. A right parent-child relationship gives the child the motivation to say “No” and makes the child feel secure even when he hears the word, “NO.”   Avoid extremes Discipline without relationship teaches a child to fear “getting caught.” At its worst, discipline without relationship teaches the child to […]

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Teaching the Discipline of Self-Improvement

The start of a new year usually begins with a few resolutions. Whether they actually follow through on the resolutions or not is a separate issue. The thought of self-improvement and the discipline involved is a great training lesson for children and teens. The fact that I actually have in me the discipline to improve myself is an understanding that has been totally lost. When you ask today’s child, teen, or young adult what they would like to change this next year, they will almost always talk about a possession. Instead of changing themselves or improving themselves as a person, […]

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All I Want for Christmas Is…

“All I want for Christmas is…?” The answer to this question could determine the success or failure of your Christmas experience. As a parent the question is: What do we really want for Christmas? Don’t we want something that will last for generations to come? Something powered by more than batteries. I have never heard anyone say, “We have a great family tradition of giving each other video games for Christmas. It’s been an awesome part of our Christmas for generations.  It’s what brings us back home each year.” All I Want is… There are many electronics we could get […]

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It’s Time to Teach Time

This article, that was written by Mom and Dad, is so timely as we wrap up the first quarter of school and head into the second. It resonated with me deeply as I was the one helping a child “catch up” on a research paper this last week. I hope it is a good reminder for you as you organize the second quarter of your family and the holidays! -Torrey Roberts Time for time teaching Mothers across America have been heard to say, “I hope you know we will never go through this again!” This phrase has been shouted right […]

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Turn Your Family Time Back On!

Recently, while waiting for a traffic light to turn green, I glanced over at the car next to me and noticed an incredibly sad scene. A mom was driving with three kids. It had the potential to be a great family outing, but for one thing, each person in the van was engaged in his or her own electronic activity. Each except the youngest, who was glued to something on the ceiling. Only after the light turned green did I see that he too was into his own electronics. He was focused on his own iPad screen.  Dysfunctional Family Time […]

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We Have Lost Something Important!

Today’s family has lost something and it’s a huge loss. Not to worry though. It can be found. The members of today’s typical family have lost their connection to each other. They have little in common other than the same address. Unfortunately, today’s family members have unplugged from each other. Something called connection To meet a natural need to be plugged in somewhere, today’s children are plugging into the outside world and working desperately to stay connected. I don’t even think they know why.  The answer is, however, it’s the only connection they have.    Pull the plug on social […]

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Seasons – Back to School

I love that life comes in seasons, even in South Florida, where the weather doesn’t change much. There is always excitement for change, for fresh beginnings. God reminds us of this every morning with a beautiful, new sunrise. Changing seasons We live our lives in rhythms. When I look at the month of August — especially for parents — a fresh, new, shiny school year is coming. There is excitement (hopefully) over all the new things: new clothes, new supplies, new classrooms, new classes. This fresh start is such a great opportunity to work on new habits, new rhythms in […]

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Helping Your Child with Big Emotions

We have talked about the fact that in parenting the days may feel long but the years go by so quickly. We have but a few summers with our children before they are off to college, 13 or less to be exact, where we can be intentional to pour into our children. We can use these months to give them memories as a family, with intentional fun together and vacations, but we can also use these moments to train. One of these areas we can focus on is handling big emotions. We may have more time to observe these moments […]

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Use Your Summer Wisely

Every time we head into a summer, and a school year, the reality of how short a time we have with our children hits me. We have 13 summers with them at home under our roof, and goodness it goes by so quickly. A wise parent once told me, “The days are long, but the years are short.” That is such a true statement! Because of this, it is imperative that we use our summers wisely.  We need to use them to create memories, for family time but also for training. One of the ways we can use our summertime […]

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