Head & Heart Parents

Three year old Wes used to play his favorite game at bedtime. It was called, “See how many ways I can be naughty.” He was the only one enjoying the game. His single, working dad certainly did not. Wes was very creative in how he played the game: he ran away when it was time [...]

Little kids want to be big kids, and parents can leverage that desire to get cooperation when behavior problems arise. In one example, 4-year-old Emma’s mom asked her to blow her nose. “No!” Emma shouted. Remembering how important it was for Emma to feel like a big kid, Mom said, “Oh, that’s right, I know [...]

For many years now, my children have unwittingly been actors in a drama… the play could be titled “Kerry’s Fantasies.” These fantasies consist of dreams and stories created by a much younger me in which my children are happy and well adjusted, squeaky clean and smiling. In this dream, there is an act by the [...]

For parents who deal with children being obstinate, defiant and challenging, here are a few thoughts on power struggles: If we deal with resistance by struggling back, not only will we damage our relationship with our kids and set them up to be rebellious, but we will be very frustrated.  It is a child’s JOB [...]

One couple had a hard time with their 3-year old daughter in the beginning of the 5-week class.  It seemed that nothing worked with their strong-willed little girl.  Read below to see how things worked out….. Hi Kerry, Thank you again for all your help and advice about parenting. Below is a testimonial from our parenting experience. [...]

It seems that just about every family has at least one child who spends most of his time trying to figure out what others want.. so that he can do exactly the opposite. Frustrated by their testy behavior, it’s pretty darn easy to fall into less than effective parenting practices. I hear some of these [...]

My son, Robert, and his girlfriend, Jenna, were here last night. Jenna asked me what I was reading, so I did a quick explanation of the updated version of Parenting with Love and Logic. After hearing this explanation, my son said, “So that’s who is to blame!” I laughed and asked innocently what he meant. [...]

When we’ve got a seriously underachieving youngster, it’s awfully tempting to resort to taking away all sorts of things in a desperate attempt to motivate them to do their schoolwork. Sadly, this often backfires, leading the child to become even more resistant about learning. Most of us wouldn’t feel that motivated if our spouse said, [...]

After reading Parenting with Love and Logic™, Tim’s mom instituted a new bedtime policy. She told Tim that picking a sleep time was his decision. He was expected to be in his room at 8:00 each evening, but he could decide when to go to sleep. In addition to this, everyone in the family was [...]

Okay, I guess the title of this week’s tip is a bit perplexing. So is the whole subject of potty training little tykes who’ve developed “throne aversion syndrome.” Once this sad condition takes hold, the resulting power-struggles can be enough to bring even the strongest adult to their knees. If you’re beginning to fight with [...]