Blog entries

How Can I Get My Child To Listen To Me?

Michael — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:32:09 +0100

"My children just won't listen to me!"

"No matter HOW many times I ask them to pick up their things, they leave their room like a pigsty!"

"If I have to tell my kid ONE MORE TIME to hang up his clothes, I'm going to throttle him!"

These are statements I have heard, no just from others, but from my own lips on countless occassions. It seems at times that no mattter what approach I take, no matter what punishments I devise and no matter how much I debase myself ...

When is it "Bad Behavior", Aren't "Kids Just Kids"?

Michael — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:32:48 +0100

Every year at my children's school we have an annual 'camp-out', where all the families get together and pitch tents on the playing fields and everyone barbecues and the kids run around. It is a time for parents to relax with each other, for the kids to have a little bit of an adventure and generally speaking, fun is had by all. Generally speaking.

At this years camp-out there were quite a few activities for the kids to be involved in, from fund-raising to wall-climbing, and there were...

Manners and Toddlers, Important or Not?

Michael — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:12:05 +0100

Very important, not because we want to create perfect little robots, but because we want to start developing our children's ability to adapt and learn. We start giving them the tools to get the most out of life from the first time they lay eyes on us, so don't underestimate what they can and can't learn...

With all the stages your new child goes through, it is often difficult to pinpoint when they move from one to the next. The stages are classified by what happens to the child menta...

Discipline, Self-Esteem and A Happy Child!

Michael — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:31:34 +0100

Take a group of children, put them in a field, divide them into two teams and throw a ball into the mix. Stand back, and watch what happens. Don't interfere, don't tell them what to do, leave them alone. Within a couple of minutes a few things have happened; they have selected captains for their teams, if the teams are uneven they have made them equal, rules have been laid down, the goal lines have been drawn and a target of goals to reach in order to establish a winner has been reached. All...

Parents, Lead From The Front!

Michael — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:17:04 +0100

On our side of the world today was the first day of school for most students around the country. A day when parents all around the land team up and collectively storm the bastions of education in a united front to show their children exactly how much they love them, by clogging the parking lots and driveways of said institutions, as well as inundating the hapless teachers with all the same questions they are going to ask at the first parent-teacher evening in one week's time.

It is a...

The Proof is in the Pudding!

Michael — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:12:55 +0100

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year. Ten days into the year and already the goodwill and joyous spirit so evident through the holidays is beginning to dissipate, as seen by the looks on the faces of those in the traffic on the highway on the way to work this morning!

This holiday season my wife and I embarked on an adventure that many of you will be able to relate to you in some way, we traveled overseas with our three boys, aged 5, 8 and 12...

Quality vs Quantity, Our Kids, Our Time...

Michael — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:15:02 +0100

"It's not about how much time we spend with our kids, but the quality of the time we give them."

How many times have we, as parents, used, or heard that line? Too many times to mention. I've got three boys, and I've used that line more than a couple of times, every time I feel guilty about the fact that I haven't spent time with my kids...

As a parent I have fallen too often into the trap that I have to 'entertain' my kids when I'm with them, that my time with them is only ...

What do you want to be?

Michael — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:24:21 +0100

What did you want to be when you grew up? For some of us the question is still relevant! Think back to those moments in your childhood and adolescence when you recognized something in someone else, someone older than you – and you wanted some of what they had.

I wanted to be a pilot – my father was a cargo master and his friends were all pilots in the old Rhodesia – they were cool. Calm, strong – they were like the Marlbo...

Education and Manners, A Great Combo!

Michael — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:08:30 +0100

Considering that nearly 90% of us consider rudeness a serious problem in our society, and that there is serious thought in developing legislation requiring schools to deal with bullying and violence, it seems that we need to rethink the importance of manners and social skills training.

I have always believed that good manners contribute to a more caring, respectful, and successful life. When most people hear the term "good manners," they assume you mean table manners or...

Manners? Why bother?

Michael — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:46:23 +0100

Do manners really matter? In todays fast-food, instant gratification, need it now, gimme gimme gimme world, do they really mean anything?

Is the word "manners" even politically correct, I mean, who are YOU to tell ME that my child has "bad manners"!?

I am the father of three sons, and I know how it feels to look at my children, shake my head and say "who are these kids and why are they acting like absolute hooligans, I never taught them to act like this!" Heaven help the...