👎 What to Do When Your Spouse Is a Bad Parent

💔 Steps for Keeping the Peace in Broken Homes

✨ 5 Reasons You Should Celebrate Little Milestones

📗 FREE Ebook: 10 Things All Dads Need To Do To Help Their Child Be Successful

💛 Can Empathy Be Learned?

how to parent a strong-willed child

Day one of school came, and we were ready to rock. Excited to see friends, make new friends, and launch into a new adventure. But then we got to the front door, and our kindergartner lost it. She didn’t want to go, and the tears flowed. We made it through days one, two and three, and then we were a week in. As we figured out routines for a successful school morning drop-off, each day was better than the one before.

Then, quarantines hit, and school closed for a time. We had to start the process all over again. School drop-offs can be difficult for many kids (my 5-year-old despises it). It becomes more challenging when you have to alter routines due to things out of your control, like a pandemic.

It’s important to recognize and validate your children’s feelings. They may be anxious about a new place, new people, or the ever-changing schedule.

This school year looks to be full of unknowns. Each week, we don’t know how many days we’ll be in school or how our routine will be thrown off. We may experience that first-day drop-off anxiety numerous times, and we can help by being upbeat and positive. It may not be easy, but our kids don’t need easy; they need safety and security, and we can help them feel safe about school.

You can help your kids feel safe and secure about school.

5 ways kids can affect your marriage (& what to do about it)

Being a parent is amazing, but it’s tough. Life changes with kids, and each stage of parenting brings new challenges. There’s a lot to balance.

Let’s be real: Kids affect your marriage. Here are a few common ways and what to do about it:

1. Self-care often takes a backseat for parents.

Self-care, what’s that? It can be hard to carve out alone time, but you need it, and so does your marriage.



2. You may disagree about parenting styles.

It happens. We all enter marriage with a belief system about how to parent, and it’s often based on how we were parented.

3. Date night can get put on the back burner.

Dating is crucial to a healthy marriage, and kids can affect your ability to do that. Before kids, there may have been elaborate date nights, expensive dinners, flowers, and gifts. Date nights just may look different.

4. Your sex life may change.

Early on in parenting, your sex life often takes a backseat because babies make life interesting.

5. Marriage satisfaction may decrease…

Kids and all the issues I mentioned above can affect your marriage by adding stress to your marriage.

Yes, being a parent is challenging, but it’s so rewarding. Enjoy it, make memories, and don’t sweat the small stuff. Be intentional about having a healthy marriage, because it’s the best thing for you and your kids.

Reduce the stress and increase your connection with these tips.