I Have Parenthood On The Brain Today!

It all started with THIS article! Adult children suing their mother because she caused emotional stress by not including money in a birthday card, an other such nonsense....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

That got me thinking about THIS book about avoiding the "Entitlement Trap" and led me to pre-order it! (I can't wait until Sept 6th!)

All of this led me to ValuesParenting.com. It is a website by Richard & Linda Eyre. They are New York Times best selling authors, parenting specialist, and the parents of the author of one of my favorite blogs, 71toes.com, who also just happens to be the current Young Mother of the Year. I'm kind of thinking that these are the sort of people that would have the kind of tips and motivation I would like to learn from and implement in our home. Click HERE and watch the Eyre's short clip on setting "Family Laws". LOVE this concept! Lately I have been trying to find ways to teach the kids that THEIR choices dictate the consequences they experience, thereby teaching them that THEY choose their consequences and experiences. That way they learn more about accountability and feel less like it is us against them. We are, after all, totally on their side and want them to learn and succeed.

We are just coming off of the funnest Summer we have ever had! We have played like crazy! Memories have been made and we have gotten closer. The kids have had so much fun and in turn they have been more obedient, helpful, kind, etc. This has motivated me to continue to find ways to experience these kinds of things throughout the school year as well. It doesn't always have to be huge. I mean, we are fans of family game night! If we are short on time, simply whipping out a game for 30-45 min totally satisfies every time!

There are way too many things that I don't do right as a Mom. I get busy and sometimes MY priorities or schedule runs the home. I get a bit impatient and I am far from the mother I really WANT to be. I am not even close to perfect and there are times when things aren't ideal. However, when I am "on my game", I am happier! My kids are happier! My hubby is happier! My goal is to add more balance to my life so that there are more opportunities for me to BE "on my game". Hopefully these times will be enough to smudge out all of my imperfections in my kids memories! :)