Building Strong Families

Family New Year Resolutions - If you haven’t already done so, take time as a family this month to create a family New Year’s resolution. A family resolution is one the entire family can participate in creating and fulfilling, a goal the family works toward together.

Setting Family Goals - We spend a lot of time in life setting personal goals for ourselves in hopes of making our lives happier, healthier, and better, but how often do we set them for our family?

Tackling the Yeah But's - For any family goal (or personal goal for that matter) to be successful, families need to take the time to discuss the Yeah But’s; the hurdles of any family goal we don’t know how to overcome, and if we don’t will doom the success of the family goals.

Dream Big! - Dream big! I tell my kids this a lot. I believe there is a lot of power in dreaming big and encourage my children to do so.

How Will They Remember You? - My 9 year old daughter, Jennifer, has a real talent for saying it like it is. You will always know what she honestly thinks about something. Got a new hairdo? She will be the first to say you should have saved your money.

Family Travel Goals - My kids are big dreamers. Recently we sat down as a family to set some family vacation goals and at the top of the family’s list was a family vacation to Hawaii.

Family Fitness Challenge - Exercise has never been at the top of my list of fun things to do and I do whatever I can to not fit it into my schedule. My husband has a slightly more positive outlook and manages to fit in weekly volleyball games, bike rides in warm weather, and an occasional workout on our home exercise equipment. And if it weren’t for the really comfortable overstuffed chair that always seems to call his name, he would be more active as well.

Staying Strong

A family with purpose is a family who acknowledges their problems and who work together for resolutions. They deal with their problems and issues with open communication and with confidence.

Have You Set Any Parenting Goals for 2008? - The New Year is a time for people to take stock and to make plans for the coming year. People often set personal or business goals but how about considering what you would like your goal as a parent to be for 2008?

When is Too Much Too Much? - I have had several interesting conversations this week regarding the term Helicopter Parents.

Parent Leadership- Learning to Lead with Love - When our oldest son was small, he often kept his room a mess. If I blew my stack and started yelling about what a pigsty his room was, my son would literally freeze.

Raising Emotionally Strong Kids - Here are 4 very important things every parent should be doing to raise emotionally strong children.

Are You Parenting with Consciousness? - I have been thinking a lot lately about two words, consciousness and ethics, and how they relate to parenting . . . they are both words that have been used a lot lately with parenting, so I wanted to explore the meaning and relate that to what I believe and think about parenting.