There really are no secrets to parenting well, in fact you can find all of the answers to your parenting questions in the Bible. Often we go looking for answers from famous authors, encouraging bloggers and best friends, but while they often have great ideas, they aren’t who we should be looking to for the answers to parenting well.

The most difficult times to parent well are the moments when you’re in the thick of parenting and you just need to know what God wants you to do in that moment. You don’t have time to pull out your Bible (though sometimes you should take the time!), but you want to know that what you’re about to do would be seen as parenting well.

Thankfully there are a few simple steps that we can follow to ensure that we parent well, even when we’re in the midst of a difficult parenting moment. If we would take time to memorize and remind ourselves of these steps often, we’ll find that our parenting struggles will be less frequent and stressful.

• Pray

Prayer can move mountains! Truly, if we would remember all of the miracles that have occurred in our lifetime and throughout history, we would know that prayer needs to be the first step we take to parent our children well. By taking a moment to pray silently (or with our children), we are teaching our children that though this moment is more than we can handle, we know who to go to when we need help and strength to carry on!

• Love

Our children need to know that no matter what is going on, that we love them. They need to understand that their behavior, attitude or choices do not change our love for them. We need to ensure that our love is exhibited in the midst of difficult, sorrow, joy and pain. It is especially important that in the midst of difficulty or disappointment that we speak the truth to our children in love.

• Discipline

Just as God disciplines us as parents and adults, we must discipline our children. It is essential that our children learn that there are consequences (or blessings!) based on our behavior. We cannot simply choose not to discipline our children because we are weary or tired of dealing with the same thing over and over again. Our children need to learn while in the safety and security of our home that making the same decision or choices repeatedly will not change the outcome.

I know that there are countless times in my day when I need to remember these 3 simple steps to parent my children well. All too often I over think things or just fail to address the issues in our days because I’m too tired or busy to parent well. It is my hope and prayer that by reminding you of these simple truths that I too will continue to make the decision to parent well.

How do you ensure that you are making the choice to parent your children well?

The post 3 Simple Steps to Parent Well first appeared on True Aim.

The orange bird darted wildly under the slide, through the tomato patch and into the corn, all the while flapping and dodging swatting clubs. Hot on her heels was a mob of 4-7 year-olds, laughing with evil delight and swinging thick branches.

When the chicken reached the farthest privacy fence, she flapped her clipped wings with all her might, but couldn’t quite clear it and instead slammed into the middle. Squawking hysterically she faced the young savages. There was no way out; she had to make a run for it right up the middle.

So she did, and raced for cover in my corn patch. On her way, a few hits connected, and she released blood-curdling squawks as her feathers exploded. But the kids did not stop. Actually, they cheered louder.

The 4×12 ft corn patch was quickly surrounded, and the wild children swung the clubs violently, breaking nearly every stalk of corn just weeks from harvest.

The entire scene unfolded in seconds. And it took me a good few seconds more to completely understand the severity of the situation.

With all the corn flat on the ground, the chicken was forced to make another break for it, but I don’t think she would have stood a chance if, at that very moment, I hadn’t swung the back door open.

My oldest daughter Audrey, most likely the ringleader, heard the screeching slide of the screen door before the others. Her eyes widened as she went from hunter to hunted. Gulping, she dropped her stick and tried to avoid eye contact, but it was no use. I was fixed on her and moving swiftly.

She didn’t dare run, best to surrender or even play dead than to make her angry father chase her down.

By this point the yard was silent, with Audrey’s playmates dissipating back into the shadows of the farthest fence. Audrey opened her mouth to explain, but a flash of my eyes ended it.

“So you like to hurt little animals, do you?” I snarled.

Audrey burst into tears; she knew what was coming. I gave her a spanking that she will never forget. Then my anger subsided, I hugged her, forgave her, and sent her on her way. She hasn’t hurt a chicken, much less any other living creature, since. My “angry parenting,” (as someone once called it) worked.

This isn’t the way that I planned to parent. Like all parents, I too wanted to practice “positive parenting.” The idea that I could bring up a respectful child with rainbows and buttercups, giggles and pep talks, sounded wonderful and too good to be true. And yes, that is exactly what it was – too good to be true.

I got to witness “positive parenting” in action at a restaurant years ago. A little boy threw noodles at his mommy. In the softest, sweetest, positive-parenting tone, she pleaded with her little joy to stop. He didn’t.

Instead, he laughed mischievously and threw more noodles. She continued to remain calm and explained that he was hurting his mommy’s feelings. He giggled and pushed the entire bowl into her lap. She was lucky enough to catch it, but then stupid enough to give it back.

“Please, don’t do that.” she pleaded, gently holding his arms.

He screamed and squirmed to get his arms free. The mother quietly negotiated that she would release his arms if he promised to stop throwing food. He made no such promise, but for the sake of the restaurant she let go if only to stop the screaming. The moment she released his arms, he hit her.

“Ouch. You hurt your mommy. We don’t hit because that hurts others.”

He smacked her again, and she went on again about how hitting wasn’t nice. As she lectured, she leaned in closer. When her face was in range, the boy smacked it, and laughed. At this point the mommy stood up and walked away, and the boy started screaming again.

That is what some people call “positive parenting,” but I call it “raising-a-spoiled-brat parenting.” And the whole time this was playing out, I was thinking, “Lady, I could end this in 30 seconds, and while it might hurt the kid for a moment, he’d avoid a lifetime of being a miserable hellion.”

Until just this century, parents had done a pretty good job parenting. They used common sense and their hearts, and that determined whether it was a spanking coming, or a hug. It wasn’t perfect or foolproof, but it worked.

Yet the behavioral therapists couldn’t charge you for their therapy and psychotropic drugs, or sell you their “total transformations” when it was that simple. So, they gave poor advice that led to more problems and a greater need for their services.

In fact, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the “spanking is never the answer” rhetoric was funded by the therapists and drugs companies to grow their clientele.

Of course, I still believe in positive parenting, but I also believe in angry parenting (or if you prefer – tough-love parenting). The two are meant to work in harmony.

When kids do something terrible, like torture a tiny animal or bully a sibling, they need to see you angry. It shows them that you care and are emotionally involved in their upbringing, that you’re passionate about right and wrong, and that you aren’t going to tolerate evil.

Actually, I think parenting is far more dimensional than positive parenting or tough-love parenting. Parenting isn’t an exact science; it is an art. It takes wisdom and practice. Proper correction will always depend on the child, the situation and the infraction.

At the same time, you don’t need to read an expert’s manual. God gave you love, His Word, and grace, and that makes you totally equipped to parent!

The post Yes, I Practice “Angry Parenting” first appeared on True Aim.

“I don’t spank my kids, but that isn’t why they don’t behave…” she began. I just nodded my head; I knew what was coming next: a list of disorders and medications.

Next, she was going to tell me about the article she read by PhD. Drug Company that claimed spanking only makes the situation worse. She might tell me about her counselor, (a man who feeds his family off of her family’s dysfunction) and how he also agrees spanking is bad… better to pay for parent-child mediation, he says.

She’ll go on to talk about the hypocrisy of hitting someone for hitting. No need to explain that a parent spanking a guilty child is different than a child hitting another child, in the same way that police officers arresting criminals is different than criminals kidnapping innocent victims; it has everything to do with authority and intent.

I’ll also be informed, that her smiley youth pastor recently discovered that the Bible never commanded parents to spank their children. In super ancient Israel, rods had a knot on the top and when a shepherd held it into the sun, it cast a shadow resembling a lollipop. Therefore, when God says not to spare the rod, He is really saying spare not the lollipop. God wants parents to generously shower their children in lollipops! It is a brilliant interpretation, one the Author himself couldn’t have made!

Then she’ll tell me about how spanked children resent their parents. I’ll ask her if she resents her parents, and she will say no; but she’ll also claim that many others do. Between the two of us, we won’t be able to think of single person, yet we’ll both be able to rattle off a dozen people who were spanked and claim that it did them some good. Still, you can be sure that resentful people are out there – everywhere.

I have conversations like this all the time. As a parent who believes in spanking, they make me laugh more often than they offend me. Still it really isn’t a laughing matter. If we stand by and say nothing, the “positive-parenting” crowd will have Biblical-parenting outlawed. Then our children will behave like their children. And the only winners will be shrinks and drug companies!

Be sure to leave a comment letting us know whether you agree or disagree.

The post I don’t spank my kids, but that isn’t why they don’t behave… first appeared on True Aim.

Over the course of three years, I had many professional adults prescribe modern solutions to my behavior crisis. At Church I did Sunday school in the hallway, at school I was enrolled a discipline plan, the courts had me in a special diversion program (a precursor to jail), and at home, my poor mother had a stack of parenting books about how to handle the “strong-willed” child.

Every few weeks it seemed, she attempted a new plan of action guaranteed by her books to work, which to her dismay, produced zero results.

I did behave in the summer time at my fathers. He was one of those strict parents that modern therapists warn against. But that was only for six weeks. The rest of time I was at my mothers, raising hell. A time did come however, when my mother ran out of ideas and I started seeing brochures for military boarding schools appear in the mail.

Most who knew me back then, would think that if change could happen, it could only happen slowly, in baby steps. But I can tell you, my behavior changed instantly, the moment I stepped onto the military school campus. If you have ever seen Cesar Millan rehabilitate an aggressive dog in a single afternoon, then you know how sudden change can be. Nor was I the only transformation. We all changed that very first day.

So, what was the secret? I can tell you that there weren’t any “Total Transformation” gimmicks; they didn’t resort to drugging us; and there wasn’t a “modern” behavior psychologist on staff.

It was really simple; they did three things very well:

1. The set strict rules and stricter consequences.

2. They had us memorize all the rules and consequences.

3. And most importantly, they strictly enforced the rules.

We knew ahead of time, that tobacco cost us 25 tours and 25 demerits. Cursing the same. We got 10 and 10 for having a “lackadaisical attitude.” Failed room inspection was also 10 and 10. Fighting 50 and 50, and disrespect to the colors was 75 and 75.

A single tour was 45 minutes of extra duty, and when there was no extra duty, we simply marched. So, 25 tours meant 18.75 hours of extra duty. And extra duty came before sports and weekends. Demerits had other consequences. Enough demerits restricted us from team sports and leadership roles, and even the rare offering of a weekend trip home!

We never expected mercy. In fact, if we thought that they were capable of it, we would have resented them for not granting it every time. But there was no such variation in the rules. If one of us had tobacco, we merely looked in our handbook, found tobacco and ran our finger to the right and there it was, 25 demerits and 25 tours. There was simply no other way, and for nearly the same reason that a boy is burned when he touches the fire. It is cause and effect.

Now at first, you would think that such a strict place would be a terrible place of misery and discipline. But I can tell you that I received more discipline back home. It is the mathematical paradox of strict parenting.

Back home I mouthed off, let’s say 5 times a day, to which I received a few warnings, then a few threats, and finally a slap on the wrist. This cycle ensued daily because I could never tell whether I was dealing with a warning or threat, and even if it was the real thing, I wasn’t too worried about the slap on the wrist, was I? In the long run, the punishments added up, but the bad behavior only intensified.

In military school, mouthing off would get me 25 demerits and 25 tours. That was no leadership, no sports, and 18.75 hours of extra duty. Pretty harsh, right?

Not at all.

The punishment was so severe that I merely stopped mouthing-off. I never received the punishment; it was enough to know that it was there and would be strictly enforced. Yes, it is a parenting paradox that the children with the strictest rules and most severe consequences, often experience less discipline! It’s why tough love works and “positive” parenting often leads to an endless cycle of punishment. That is the math and mercy of strict parenting!

The post The Mercy of Strict Parenting first appeared on True Aim.

When it comes to disciplining children the divide could not be greater. One parent will discover a magical fix all, and another will call it abuse. And the “experts” are little help. Because they can’t make a living selling common sense, they feel the need to poke holes in the traditional ways, and sell modern money-back-guaranteed methods in their books.

So, when I heard that the latest form of controversial discipline is timeout I had to laugh, “Here we go again.”

Both sides make reasonable cases; one arguing that timeout is highly effective and the other claiming it leaves children psychologically scarred. Instead of enlightening parents, these types of arguments serve as a form of parenting paralysis where parents fear acting and are afraid of not acting.

There is really no need for all of this. There are millions, probably billions of kids raised on timeouts, and we don’t see any (that I know of) rushing to therapists to deal with their timeout-induced abandonment disorders. So if you use timeouts, don’t worry, I don’t think that you are destroying your children’s fragile lives.

On the other hand, there is a legitimate criticism of the practice. And instead of disregarding them completely, or being persuaded to retire a useful disciplinary measure, we might use their criticism to refine our practices.

For instance, it is true that many parents overuse timeout, or misuse timeout. When they don’t have time to deal with their children’s behavior, they send them packing to the corner not as a means to correct the behavior, but in order to avoid it.

So, here are some practical tips to help you perfect the art of timeout.

6 Tips for Using Timeouts to Discipline

1. Be consistent. This tip is the simplest to understand, but the hardest to carry out. You can’t ignore bad behavior and then try to make up for it with an extra long timeout several infractions later.

2. Don’t forget. I do this all the time. I put my kid in timeout and forget that they are there. My kids sit patiently, until what I meant as a 2 minute refocus break turns into a 20 minutes tear-fest. Feeling really guilty, I break the first rule, “Be Consistent,” because I feel the need to cut my children some slack the next time, after accidentally over-correcting.

3. Neither short, nor long. If the timeout is too short, it won’t work. And while I would say that if you must err, it is better to err on the side of too long, we still want to be reasonable if we expect our children to respect our rules. Excessively long timeouts exceed the useful threshold and venture to end in bitterness.

4. Let Attitude be Your Guide. Make sure that your child has accepted the timeout and is ready to improve. If they still have a spirit of rebellion then they need to go straight back to timeout.

It is really simple: ask for an apology and if they give you that and a hug, you know they have taken the timeout to heart, but if they glare and continue to argue and make excuses, they need a few more minutes to reflect in the corner.

5. Timeout is No Cure-All. Consider timeout one of many tools in your discipline tool belt. There are times that it will work best and other times that you can make it work, and still other times that it simply won’t work. That doesn’t mean you disregard it; just use it wisely, when appropriate.

Disciplining children is mostly an art. No matter what claims behavior psychologists make, you don’t have to buy what they are selling. If you went to their homes you’d find them dealing with the exact same discipline struggles that you are. Consider their opinions, but always let common sense rule the day.

6. When Timeouts Don’t Work. Timeouts are great for reflection and refocusing, but they seldom work on temper tantrums. Yes, your kid may sit in timeout and eventually wear himself out, but that is the exhaustion ending the fit, not the timeout.

I use timeout when the behavior is mild and neglectful, but when it comes to bad attitudes I’m not as nice. I have a zero tolerance and my discipline is swift and strict. Timeouts rarely work for bad attitudes because until the attitude is adjusted the kids plot revenge, instead of planning an apology.

Of course, these are just suggestions. To read more about the ‘Great Timeout Debate‘ and other popular conversations, go to Yahoo!Parenting.

I’d love to hear your views! Do you discipline your children? Do timeouts give you results? Leave a comment below.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

The post The Use and Misuse of Timeout first appeared on True Aim.

First, I started to see “spanking-is-abuse” articles all over the news.  Next, Delaware essentially criminalized corporal punishment.  And finally, my four-year-old daughter told me she didn’t want to play with me following a spanking episode.

More than anything else, that last one really hurt and my conviction began to unravel.

It started with a few additional warnings and then an increasing “timeout bias.”  Without realizing it, I had lost my conviction and began jumping hurdles to avoid spanking.  The effect was profound, but wholly unnoticed until one morning.

Observation:  “Audrey, would you please clear and wipe down the table.”  It was a simple request that months ago would have been meet with an cheerful, “Yes Mom.”  I waited and waited.  Audrey, who was playing chess on the computer, didn’t even look up, much less respond.

“Audrey, did you hear me,” I continued.”  She nodded yes, but continued to play here game.  “Audrey, get up right now and clean this table!” I barked.  Finally she looked up, but only long enough to inform me that she was currently busy.  And that is how the argument began.

Five minutes later it was getting really heated.  My four-year-old was sassing and I was threatening “timeouts,” when all of the suddenly it abruptly ended!  Literally mid-sentence!  Audrey went from telling me how she was “just going to finish her…” and then just as cheerful as can be, “Yes Mom. I will clean the table right now!”

For a second a was doubt founded!  What had so quickly changed her attitude?

Then I noticed Dad had entered the room.  “Good morning Dad!  I am helping Mom clean the table!” Audrey chirped, while smiling and scrubbing away.  If I hadn’t just personally witnessed her attitude, I would have suspected that she was the sweetest, happiest, most-hard-working daughter in the whole world. The transformation was breathtaking.

Later my husband and I discussed what had happened.  He swore that Audrey simply did not respect me as much because I hadn’t been spanking her consistently.  In fact, he said she may even resent me because I wasn’t spanking her!

At first, I didn’t see his logic.  Why would my daughter resent me because I didn’t spank her?  But the truth was that Audrey behaved better for her father.

Parable of the Stove:  A few days later Audrey and I were cooking dinner together.  She was watching for the water on the stove to come to a boil, so that she could poor the rice.  When it did, she leaned forward and eased the rice into the pot.  She was totally focused, careful not to touch the hot burner and careful not to let the rice splash boiling water.

As I was monitoring our daughter, my husband leaned in and whispered, “How many times has Audrey been burned by the stove.”

“Just once,” I replied.

“Does she hate cooking because the stove burned her?” he continued.

“No, she loves to cook.  She is just more careful now.”

“So, instead of resenting the stove for burning her, you might say she respects it?  Of course, if the stove was cold most of the time she would hate it because it never cooked food like it was suppose to and, on the other hand, if the stove occasionally flared up and spit flames into the air and burned her, she would probably hate it and never want to cook again.  But, as long as the stove is consistent, cooking as it should and burning her only when she is careless, she doesn’t resent it.  In fact, if she was to get burned again she would probably blame herself for being careless and not the stove for doing what stoves do.”

I knew where he was going.  I was like the crazy stove that is always cold until it suddenly flared up, shooting flames everywhere.  No wonder Audrey didn’t behave for me anymore – she wasn’t sure when she needed to.

Conclusion:  The spankings have resumed and Audrey and I are getting along much better.  Now whenever I see an article from some child psychologist about how children resent parents that spank them, I remind myself, “Don’t worry – no one hates the stove!”

The post Don’t Worry – No One Hates the Stove! first appeared on True Aim.

This idea first came to me when I was helping with the 2 and 3-year-olds in Sunday School.  There wasn’t an established discipline system.  Most of the children were very well behaved, but there were times when they needed a little more than verbal praise as motivation to listen.

I wanted to make it easy for very young children to understand, while really fun and visually appealing at the same time.  So, we used magnets to help them manage their behavior.  They get 3 magnets that represent how many chances they get before a consequence is enforced.  Instead of just warning a child verbally, they get a verbal warning AND a visual warning by removing one of their “jewels”, as we call them.  This helps them remember the rules and stay focused.

If they lose all three of their jewels, they get a time out.   This system also rewards good behavior at the same time.  They can earn their jewels back by being good listeners and following directions.  If the children keep just one magnet, they get a special treat at the very end of class.  Usually it’s just a small piece of candy or fruit snacks.

This has been a huge help to our preschool class.  After the children who come regularly learned the system and understood the consequences, we’ve rarely had to take jewels away.  After seeing how well it worked in the preschool class, I took it home and use it for all my children.

How to Make a Simple Reward System

For our reward system, we used recycled can lids that were removed with a can opener that cuts a dull edge.  We had the children help us paint the lids as a special activity in class.  So, I had my children do the same thing at home.

Then I wrote their names on them and simply glued magnets on the back with rubber cement.  You could also use stronger, thicker magnets and the lids just stick right to them without glue.  If you are making this for your preschool or Sunday school class, you could also use simple name tags for the children too.

I bought the “jewels” at the store and attached magnets to the backs, but you could use any magnets you already have.

To hold all the magnets at church I just glued wrapping paper to a cookie sheet.  When the children come to church, the first thing they do is get their names and pick “jewels”.  This gives us the opportunity to remind them of the rules and the reward.  It also helps calm and distract new children if they are uneasy about being away from their parents.  At home, I keep them low on the refrigerator.

We still use our Popsicle Stick system for homeschooling and completing special tasks, but needed something specifically for behavior.  I geared this new reward system for privileges.  If my kids loose all their jewels, they don’t get to have a snack.  If they have already had a snack, they don’t get any TV time the next day.  Keeping all their jewels gives them a Big Popsicle Stick reward at the end of the day.

Having two reward systems might seem confusing, but it has really motivated my children.  This simple 3 chance system helps me be more consistent about consequences and helps my children respond quickly to correction because they can see if they are getting close to loosing a privilege.

What kind of reward system do you use?

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The post Simple Reward System first appeared on True Aim.

It was the week of tattling, bossing, hitting, hoarding toys, hiding toys, name calling and tempers.  Every time I blinked, a crime had been committed, was being committed, or was just about to be committed.  We spanked and lectured, “You two are sisters.  You are best friends and need to love one another.  You should want your sister to have the better toy or the bigger piece.”

Our two beautiful girls would nod and share just long enough for me to step into the next room.  Then, the battle would go on like nothing had happened.  They just didn’t get it.  They just could not understand why it was better to give up their favorite toy, the bigger piece, or the better place.  They saw no benefit in putting others need and wants above their own.  Then their Dad stepped in…

Like every other time the girls were already pointing fingers, “She is being bossy! and “No, she was being mean first!”

“It sounds like you are both guilty.  Audrey you are being bossy and Emma you are not listening to your older sister.  So, I am going to spank you both!”  My husband, first looked to Emma and asked, “Emma, how many spankings should I give Audrey?”  My little three-year-old smiled, “Five!”  Five is a lot.  We usually start with three and go from there, so Emma knew she was being extra cruel.  Audrey protested, “No, that’s not …” but my husband cut her off.  Next he asked Audrey, “Audrey, how many spanking should I give Emma?”  We expected to hear at least five, but Audrey answered, “three.”

“OK,” said Dad, “Come here Emma, for your five spankings.”  Now it was Emma, who protested, “No, Audrey gets five.”  My little Emma who had smiled when she thought that her sister Audrey was going to get the five spankings, now burst into tears as she realized that by condemning her sister – she had condemned herself!

It was a hard way to learn compassion, but my girls (especially little Emma) learned for the first time, what it feels like to be on the receiving end of their own ruthlessness.  Today my girls really are best friends and their fights now the exception – no longer the rule.

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The post Siblings learn compassion – the hard way! first appeared on True Aim.

Norman Rockwell

These surveys categorize spanking as a form of violence and then lump a few swats on the behind into a broader “category of excessive violence.”  In other words, there is no control group in these studies for parents that give their children a few swats on the behind and a drunken father that flies into a blind rage and nearly beats his son to death with a 2 x 4!

Using similar logic I could argue that nearly anything is abusive.  For example, I could point to a mother who starves her children to death and then draw the ridiculous conclusion that forcing a child to skip a meal is child abuse.  Or, I might point to a mother who drowned her children in the tub and then argue that forcing children to bath is child abuse.  I could take a father who verbally berates and curses at his children, and then use it a proof that scolding children is child abuse.  Or, I could tell you about parents who chained their children up in locked rooms and then use that example to condemn groundings and time-outs. 

Of course, all these arguments are intellectually dishonest, but that doesn’t stop the “no spanking” crowd from terrorizing loving parents with their vicious rhetoric!  They love to point to instances of horrific child beatings and then tie them to all parents who spank.   There is a huge difference between “spanking a child” and “beating a child!”  No one is for “beating children,” but don’t tell me spanking is the same thing.  If you can’t see that, then don’t spank your children, but stop telling everyone else that they are committing child abuse!  It is Offensive!  WE DO NOT ABUSE OUR CHILDREN!

Hopefully, these two points will give you some reassurance that spanking is not child abuse.  Now the questions are:  “Does spanking work?”  “Is spanking the best form of discipline?” “Is spanking Biblical?” and “Is there a spanking technique that works best?”  My answer to all of these is YES, but I will go into all that in a later post.

I realize this can be a polarizing issue, so I would love to hear what the rest of you think about spanking.  If you have an opinion, please leave a comment.    

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The post Spanking is not Abuse! first appeared on True Aim.

We were eating dinner one night, when my husband looked up and saw a chomping, chugging, slurping, burping, lady that somewhat resembled his wife.  I looked up and saw his face and asked with a mouth full of food, “wha?”  Now that I was relaxed in my own home, I had let my manners fall by the wayside.

Manners for Children Live Video Hangout

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Learn how Jodi does her Etiquette Dinners and check out her list of Table Manners for kids.

Roll Playing with Manners

Practice makes perfect.  Jodi’s kids get lots of practice with this fun game.

Free Table Manners Printable

Display the rules so your children know what to expect.

The Manners Game

The simplest way to teach table manners.

Shy or Rude?

Many young children have a natural fear of meeting new people.  Here are some tips to get your child over this fear.

This post is part of the 5 Tips in 5 Minutes Parenting Series.

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The post Manners for Children Live Video Hangout first appeared on True Aim.