Category Archives: Parenting Practice

Kiss in Front of Your Kids

Kiss in front of your kids. Smooch. Squeeze each other. No, I’m not taking about anything that causes heavy breathing — I’m talking about: Promoting a sense of security that can never be achieved through words alone. Telling your child, “Mommy and Daddy will never get divorced,” doesn’t come close to what they understand by watching you laugh together, speak […]

Why You Should Kiss in Front of Your Kids
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Parenting for Lazy People: Acknowledge Wants, Parent for Needs

  Every child gives his or her parents multiple opportunities per day to practice wants vs. needs parenting: I want a popsicle! I want to take Prunella’s toy! I want to stay up! I want to go to the dance! I want an iPad! Wise parents hear these wants and send them through their Needs Filter: I […]

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Parenting for Lazy People: The Napping House, Part II

  Naps: bane or blessing? The thought of a regular time each day when our children sleep (and we can think our own thoughts and do things hard to accomplish with little children underfoot) can seem like an enticing but elusive dream. I wrote (a long, long time ago) about the why of napping here, […]

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Parenting for Lazy People: The Napping House, Part I

Picture your household at 5:30 pm. What’s happening? How does everybody feel? What is each person doing? Is there chaos or contentment? If your family includes children under six or so, I bet the answer to that last question depends mostly on one thing – what they were doing three hours earlier. Naps? Why Bother? […]

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The Thing that Made Me Climb on Top of the Booth at Outback Steakhouse and Cheer

First, I must tell you that I have never climbed on top of a booth at a restaurant unless I did it as a very young child, and if I did it then I am sure my good parents commanded me to get down instantly or receive a spanking. Yesterday I broke a decades-long history […]

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Parenting for Lazy People: The Only Thing You Really Have to Teach Your Child

Isn’t it a relief to find out there is only one thing you really have to teach your child? What? You don’t agree? You are thinking about toilet-training and bike-riding and no-hitting and possessions-sharing and friend-choosing and all the myriad character traits and skills good parents ought to instill in their children. Oh, I know […]

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Mr. and Mrs. Lanza and the Rest of Us: Parenting in the Trenches

I know every person who reads this is wondering, just like I am, how to make sense of a twenty year-old boy-man who, in his anger or contempt of his mother, did not speak disrespectfully to her but shot her in the face, and in his anger or contempt of society, did not write a […]

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Christmas is Coming: the Sane, Serene, and Satisfying Holiday Plan

The seductive period of the holiday season has arrived. We are in full planning mode – thinking of gifts to procure, treats to make, activities to arrange, and halls to deck, but Christmas Day itself is still a few weeks away. “Keep things fresh!” “Brighten up your holiday!” “Sparkle!” Pinterest and the ladies mags egg […]

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Past Blast: In Other News, We’ve Got a Dog

Note: Please excuse the poor formatting on this post. I have worked and worked with it, but it remains a stubborn, disobedient post. From November, 2006: Part 1: Who: Benji What: miniature Poodle, 4 mos. old, apricot, terribly cute Where: right here at my feet When: Yesterday afternoon Why: A couple of months ago, Samuel […]

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Family Matters: Cultivating Kindness

Recently, I ran across the following in two places, and it struck a chord with me about some ways our family could stand to improve: Showing kindness — Courteous words instead of sharp retorts. Smiles instead of blank looks. Enthusiasm instead of dullness. Response instead of indifference. Warmth instead of coldness. Understanding instead of the […]

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  • In My Kitchen, In My Life is a place where women (and the odd male) can be encouraged, nudged, and occasionally kicked in the pants toward living their lives on a higher plane. Oh, and readers get plenty of chances to laugh at the author's foibles, which is always worth a click.

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