Parents of Teens Need to Simultaneously Hold On and Let Go There are many reasons why the teenage years are so difficult for both kids and parents. Raging hormones encourage teens to do things that often don’t make sense or seem to go against their character. Developed (but not completely developed!) minds mean that teens […]

Even though parents would sometimes prefer it if their child remained under their wing forever, they know that at one point kids have to grow up and set out in the world on their own. While this moment is anticipated with great fear and apprehension, it is also one of the proudest moments that we […]

Growing up I was what many people might term a “type A” personality. On top of that, my social skills weren’t….great. Soooooooo, yea. I didn’t bond well with many other individuals. (I’m terribly thankful for the friends who were willing to put up with me. You know who you are.) I tended to be critical, […]

I noticed a problem recently: there is a lot of complaining going on here at Earnest Parenting. Chief complainer: Me. The rest of the family isn’t far behind me. We all seem to have gotten sucked into a pattern of blaming others for situations and complaining (vociferously) if anything goes wrong. For example, the Captain […]

Hello Son, I want to first remind you that I love you very much, and that I think you’re an amazing human being – even if you drive me crazy most days. I’m sure I bug you to pieces most of the time too. 🙂 This morning you came to me upset because your brother […]

Still working on the school frustration thing. I talked with Hubby about it and he mentioned that the fact that the older boys don’t have desks to work at bugs him a little. They love to lay on the floor to do their work. I do too, so it’s hard for me to insist on […]