Q: how differently should boys be parented vs how girls are? Examples would be, I know that boys don’t like to sit still. They need to be physical, to run and climb and use up all of their excess energy. What tips could you give a new boy mom as to how to deal with…
Tag: parenting
Discipline & Respect, with Teens & Preteens
Q: I am totally struggling with my oldest… One thing that I’m having trouble with is knowing how to discuss things with him. He still struggles with basic obedience, so that is an issue. Also, he tends to argue with me while we are talking. For example, this morning I told him that something he…
He’s NOT a “Better Mom” Than You!
It’s a popular thing to say. It sounds self-deprecating and humble and cutesy and modern. “He’s a better mom than I am.” Sometimes it’s accompanied by an explanation, like “my husband: is more organized makes Bento-box lunches plays in the floor with them is less neurotic about cleanliness cleans better is more fun knows more about…
A Letter to the Young, Gentle Christian Mama
Hi there. If we haven’t met properly, I’m Jess. I’m not a mom with all the answers, but I’m not a mom with no answers either. I’ve been a mom for nearly 15 years, which is long enough to know some things by experience. And I’m a mom to 8 kids, which is enough kids…
Mom Exhaustion Doesn’t Have to Steal Your Vision
Over the last year, I didn’t realize what was happening, but looking back, I was fighting a combination of fatigue and laziness. Though I still cared immensely about how our kids turn out, getting off the couch very often felt like too great a burden to ask. Being mentally engaged and physically active throughout each day with…
From Grumpy to Grateful: Helping Our Children CHANGE Their Thinking
Is a grumpy child just destined to be grumpy? Since his lip naturally turns downward and his arms easily fold and his body crumples, should we just give in and let him be a grump? Well, no. Just like anything else (how our kids approach their schoolwork, what sort of attitude they bring to family gatherings,…
Q&A: Getting Kids to Stay in Their Beds?
Q: How do you get your kids to stay in their beds? Mine are continuously coming out until 10:00 some (a lot of) nights. So the time between 8:30 (when they go to bed) and 10:00 (when they finally fall asleep) is spent herding them back to bed, getting them drinks, laying down with them, etc….
Getting on the Same Parenting Page as Your Husband
Q: How often do you sit with your husband and discuss how you handle disciplining the kids as a team? And what does that look like during the day when he is working and you are home? Are there instances when you bring things up in the evenings for him to work through with your…
Should Kids’ Screentime Be Unlimited?
Devices are a sticky subject now. 20 years ago it was TV time. No matter what, though, unless you’re Amish, you have to reckon with it. I’ll share what we do- but would love to hear your thoughts. A Yahoo!Parenting article (which — as a sidenote– I think should be retitled more honestly as Yahoo!UNparenting,…
Can I Help You Be a Better Mom?
Wanna know what one thing has made the difference in becoming a better mother to my children? I made this 4-minute video to tell the answer to that question, and why I write at jessconnell.com. One of the lies moms have been fed in this past decade or so is that “you’re the expert” and that “you innately possess all the mothering…