St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and the stores are filled with shamrocks, leprechauns, and “luck o’ the Irish” apparel. It got me thinking, I don’t need the luck of the Irish. My kids make me lucky every day.

There is a reason why I chose Positive Parenting 8 years ago, and a reason why I keep choosing it today. It goes beyond the better behavior, beyond the better relationships, beyond the happier kids, and beyond the connected hearts.

The questions we ask are important because obviously the answers that come to us are a result of what question we asked. So, asking the wrong questions gives us the wrong answers, and when we base our reactions, our relationships, our decisions, and our views on the wrong answers, we miss the mark.

My son has the highly sensitive trait (find out here if yours does, too), and while it has not been without challenges, I have noticed that high sensitivity also comes with these special strengths.

Responsibilities are ever-growing and down time is ever-shrinking, and much threatens to chip away at our self-worth, our joy, and the time we spend with those we hold dear. In light of this, we need to think about guarding our own motherhood so that time is not lost that we cannot get back, so that our confidence doesn’t suffer regular blows, so that our self-worth isn’t measured by the opinions of others, and so that we can find fulfillment and sustaining happiness in our lives.

Valentine’s Day is all about the language of love, but did you know that your child has a specific love language? Based on the work of Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell, there are 5 love languages – physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, and acts of service. We can use this knowledge to choose Valentine’s Day gifts for our children that truly speak to their hearts.

Groundhog Day is February 2nd. Here is a roundup of cute crafts for your little ones to enjoy.

Time-outs can be a huge power struggle, especially if you have a strong-willed kid. They’re hard on sensitive kids, too. Most of the time, they don’t even work to change behavior and you end up stuck in an endless loop of misbehavior, time-outs, and frustration. Nothing sucks the joy out of parenting quite like everyday power struggles.

Helping children to understand and manage their emotions is key to their emotional healthy, happiness, and success. Emotional intelligence affects all aspects of our lives, and it’s never too early to begin teaching our children important coping skills.

Genuine authority is a result of others trusting your leadership. That is true whether you are running a company or a household. Contrived authority results when others follow your lead out of fear. Both get results, but the question is how does it make people feel, both about you and, more importantly, about themselves?

My understanding that children are not meant to follow those to whom they are not attached was a pivotal point in my journey as a mom. What does it mean to have your child’s heart? Let’s clear up the misconceptions first.

Guilt weighs heavy on the hearts of so many mothers as we are ever juggling a myriad of responsibilities and often unsure if we have given enough, even though at the end of the day there is absolutely nothing left to give.

We all want to raise confident, capable children. Sometimes, our own actions can inadvertently get in the way of this goal. Here are 5 ways to give our children wings.

Maybe you wake up to a crying baby or a toddler who jumps on you and scares you half out of your wits (awesome way to wake up), or maybe you spend 15 minutes trying to drag a couple of big, long man children out from under the covers while they grumble and pull the covers back over their heads (ahem). Whatever your scenario, it’s probably not as peaceful as the commercial morning, and I’d be willing to bet you could use a little more peace and tranquility and a little less shoe finding and kid wrangling to start your day. Good news! I’ve gathered 5 tried and true morning rituals that will help you do just that. Are you up for a bit of a challenge?

The hectic rush of the holiday season is over, and now we can all relax! Just kidding. Let’s be real, most of us live hectic lives year-round. A busy schedule isn’t necessarily bad when it’s dedicated to activities that fill your cup and help you feel good about yourself, but busyness can take a toxic turn when we become overscheduled with things that drain us.

Many of us make promises for the new year – eating healthier, getting fit, finishing (or starting) a project, etc. This year, let’s prioritize our relationships and we’ll see a more joyful and fulfilling year. Our relationships with our children are among the most important in our lifetimes, so why not make these simple promises to bring you closer than ever before.

One fun way to preserve the best memories of each year and to document your child’s likes, interests, achievements, height, etc. is to make a time capsule every New Year’s Eve. It’s like a snapshot of the year – freezing these happy memories in time to relish for years to come.

In a perfect world (my perfect world at least) there would be zero homework, especially for elementary students! It’s kind of pointless anyway, but most of us have to deal with it, regardless. Here are my tips to make the homework hour (or three hours) less annoying and maybe even a tiny bit fun.

I spoke with my mother-in-law the other day. I was telling her how hard this tween stage could be at times. She gave a gentle smile and said, “At least you know where he is. What you’re in now, it may seem hard, but you’re in the easy part. When they leave, that’s hard.” She raised 4 wonderful people, and 3 of them now live in a different state than she does. She rarely sees her children. Her days are spent in a quiet, neat home with nothing but time on her hands, and she misses her children every single day. Children are noisy, but silence is deafening.

The further along I get in this game, the more I’m convinced that there is no right way to play for every team but that there is a best way for each individual, unique team. We can all have different playbooks and still play really well, but there is one single quality every team must have to succeed.

Twinkling lights and our favorite holiday tunes remind us of Christmases past, evoking nostalgia and a warm sense of joy. Yet, for many of us, our to-do lists rival Santa’s long list of boys and girls, and in the whirling rush to get it all accomplished, stress can creep in and steal our joy. Follow these 5 tips to ensure that joy wins out this season.