6 Ways To Herd Halflings

Parent, here’s how to save kilowatts of energy and sand dunes of sanity as you more skillfully guide your kids’ daily behaviours, attitudes and cooperation. I’m thinking of getting them to… climb out of bed, get dressed, wear underpants, eat their breakfast, take their bag, climb in the car, get off the jungle gym, change…

Tag: enlisting-co-operation

12 Tried-and-Tested Skills to Get Your Kids to WANT to Do What You Say

Want to know how to get your kids to want to listen to you? Not just because they’ve got to, but because they get to? In this post I will share the 12 skills you need to do so. But a disclaimer is in order: just because Julie and I know this list does not…

Tag: enlisting-co-operation

Why Small Kids Misbehave

Kids who misbehave need more than just correction. They need understanding. I am not saying don’t correct them, but if you correct them but fail to understand why they’re acting like a demon, you’re missing a trick. By misbehaving I think of things like your child climbing on the baby, shouting, hitting, throwing things, or…

Tag: misbehaviour

The 3 Crucial Modes of Parenting: Which Is Missing In The Way You Parent?

There are 3 paramount modes of parenting: being a Pants-wearer, a Pied Piper and a Pal. Like a 3-legged chair needs all 3 legs, so we need all 3 aspects in the way we parent our kids. Before I explain these terms, let me tell you how I came to understand these 3 modes. It…

Tag: authority, enlisting-co-operation

6 Myths That Cause Us To Spend Less Time With Our Kids

‘My dad was a ghost in my home.’ These are the haunting words of a young father I chatted to a few weeks ago. I met him as we watched our little kids at a restaurant’s play-section. He was on holiday and it was my day off. Julie was drinking a flat white nearby, and…

Tag: time

Rehumanize 101 – How Excluding Others Slowly Kills You Both

We have never been more polarized as a society. It’s not just South Africa, it’s the DSA (Divided States of America), it’s the whole world. Whipped up emotions and more vocal than ever, we all tend to be part of the problem. And social media allows each of us to vent our views and frustrations….

Tag: south-africa

Find Out How The Kids We Say We Love Spell ‘Love’.

As Julie walked down the aisle, I was sure I’d never love another like that. I was wrong. Five years later, when I first glimpsed all 3 kgs of Eli, my heart fell in love all over again. In fact I’d fall in love a further 4 times – Fynn followed 2 years later, then…

Tag: time

How To Enhance Your Family Dinners With More Fun And Better Conversation

One of the signs your family is disintegrating is the decline in the quantity and quality of family dinners – where fun, food and conversation converge around a table. And yet, in just a few decades, something like 1 in 2 families in the Western world seldom have a meal together. And those that still do…

Tag: family-dinners

3 Selfish Reasons To Have Kids

Are you thinking about whether you will have kids? Or maybe of having or adopting another one? Maybe you’re a parent in the trenches of two-year-old tantrums or tween eye rolls and you’re struggling to see the positive side… Since having our own kids, I’ve come to realize how many people think parenting is an unfortunate or…

Tag: happiness, why-have-kids

Parenting And The Myth Of Happiness

Tonight was one of those family dinners that just doesn’t go according to plan. “Mom! What is wrong with these carrots? Don’t you care about my food!?” “I don’t like chicken anymore.” “Dad! Charlie just poured his juice all over his food!” “You’re sitting on my chair! Off. My. Chair!!!” As I poured juice and peas down…

Tag: happiness, parenting-is-hard