👨‍👦 5 Steps I Took to Be a Better Dad

📱 When (And How) Should I Give My Child a Cell Phone?

❤️ 10 Ways to Affirm Your Husband as a Dad

⚠️ 5 Signs You Need Some Alone Time

😡 Dealing With Anger From Having an Absent Father

5 tips for raising good kids

Any parent headed home with their first child is probably a bit nervous about this whole parenthood thing. You really want to raise good kids, but unfortunately, each unique baby doesn’t come with its own manual.

Whether you shop local or go to Amazon for parenting help, hundreds of books offer different perspectives on the best way to raise good children. In spite of the many approaches, however, a group of Harvard psychologists found that it really boils down to some very basic strategies.

1. Spend time with your children. 

2. Model the behavior you want to see. 

3. Show your child how to care for others and set high ethical expectations. 

 4. Teach your child to be appreciative and grateful. 

5. Teach them how to see beyond themselves. 

The children in the Harvard study thought their own happiness and self-esteem was really important to their parents. Instead of being overly concerned that kids are always happy, you can emphasize how to be kind to others in their world, whether it’s the bus driver, the Walmart greeter or the referee at the sports event. Focusing on these things will help you raise children who are caring, kind, courageous and responsible.

6 ways to keep a conversation from getting derailed

Holidays are supposed to be a time of love and joy when you gather and celebrate family, friends, and traditions. Those celebrations can easily be derailed when you find yourself in an uncomfortable or controversial conversation.

There’s no shortage of hot topics to navigate around if you want to have a peaceful gathering with friends and family. But try as you may, you just might find yourself discussing a divisive issue. You know you and a loved one aren’t on the same page about this topic, and you’re ok with that, but you don’t want a conversation to hurt the relationship.

So, how do you stop the conversation before it goes too far?

1. Shine a different light on what’s being said.

If the other person says, “I don’t want to fight about this,” you can reply with, “I don’t want to fight either. Let’s have a discussion.”

2. Rephrase what’s being said.

Instead of calling someone stubborn, call them persistent or determined.

3. Reflect on a positive past experience. 

Relationships are full of positive and negative interactions. A present negative doesn’t have to tear down a mostly positive past.

4. Clarify what you heard by restating what the other person said.

We’re all guilty of speaking faster than our brain can work.

5. Ask a question.

Maybe your friend or family member didn’t mean to intentionally hurt or insult you. Perhaps they chose words too quickly. Ask, “Would you clarify what you just said?”

6. Revisit the conversation at a later time.

There’s nothing wrong with bluntly saying, “I don’t think either of us is at our best right now. Can we pause this conversation and revisit it another day?”

Remember, conversations are building blocks to help us get to know each other better. They are how we deepen and develop relationships. Don’t let one heated exchange destroy a lifelong relationship. It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be correct, but do you want to be right, or do you want to be in a relationship? You can’t always have both.