Getting preteens, especially boys, to open up can be challenging.  I find that the less I ask, the more my son is drawn to be with me; and subsequently, talk to me.   My son has specifically requested that I “not list things” i.e. chores.  Here are some other suggestions for connecting with your tween son. http://www.tweenparent.com/articles/view/251

My then-two year old daughter staged a tantrum of mammoth proportions.  She growled and screamed and kicked.  Her words were angry and loud.  I felt her frustration and wondered why mine wasn’t rising to meet hers. A question popped into my head, “What do I need most when I’m out of control?”  The answer: Love.  [...]

My tween is learning the challenge of honoring a committment.  And I am challenged by his resistance to it.  Old fashioned values would dictate that he play out his baseball season despite a loss of enthusiasm.  He made a committment to the team, after all.  I subscribe to this value even though the path of [...]

Cautions from childhood echo in my ear, “What are you complaining about?  Wait til you’re an adult in the real world.  Then you’ll know problems!”  Dismal warnings like this were enough to make me want to curl under my covers and hope that Peter Pan would rescue me from becoming an adult.  Feeling overwhelmed and [...]

Do you yell at your kids?  This question was presented to me by a parent of 3 young children.  Had I not asked this same question multiple times as a young mother hoping for absolution, I may have been more reticent and less truthful in my answer.  My neck and jaw may have stiffened as [...]