Tips of the Month for Families are regular tips for building strong relationships and healthy families. If you would like to sign up to receive these tips, scroll to the bottom of the page and sign up.
Making Amends
“Our ability to hurt each other is enormous, but nowhere is it more powerful than in families, so nowhere are apologies more frequently needed — and resisted."1
Social Media Safety
Scrolling through social media takes up a significant amount of time in the lives of our tweens and teens — whether we like it or not. While conversations with our sons and daughters about some of the ill effects of social media have never been more important (see Toxic Comparisons), talking about online risks and safety should be part of your family chats.
Slow Down
When so many cultural trends have shaped us into creatures who move fast — and who want everyone and everything around us to move fast, too — can we reasonably expect ourselves to slow down? It may be reaching for the stars to harbor this wish, but it could make a world of difference in our effectiveness as parents.
Hearing Voices
Do your kids hear voices? Of course they do. They hear your voice. What you say to them — especially what you say repeatedly — lodges in their brain and echoes at key moments throughout their lives. In time, the words that originally were yours will come to seem to them so familiar — so automatic — that they won’t differentiate between your words and theirs.
Toxic Comparisons
For a great many tweens and teens, social media has come to play an increasingly big role in their lives. A 2018 survey found that 95% of teens have access to a smart phone and 45% report going online constantly.i
Teaching Self-Compassion
“I’m so stupid.” Do you ever have that thought? Or mutter those words out loud when you make a mistake or can’t figure something out? “I’m such a loser.”
Being A Sports Parent
A new season of youth athletics has arrived. If you’re a parent of a child engaged in team sports, be aware of the ways that your actions as you stand at the edge of the field (as well as in the aftermath of the game) have the power to shape positive traits of character and self-worth for your growing son or daughter — traits that will influence who they are for the rest of their lives.