Is your happiness dependent on your daughter's happiness? Here's why I asked you this question. Last week a mom told me with a big smile on her face, "I guess it's time to go back to my recovery meeting," I asked her, "Why?" She told me that...
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How would you answer this question? Why is parenting your teenage daughter so challenging? Is it your daughter's attitude, defiance, rebellion, mood swings, and rude behavior? Is it her not obeying you or procrastinating? Is it her walling off in her room and not communicating? Yes, all of these things...
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If so, how do you want this year to be different? The problem is we don't give ourselves time to ask ourselves this question or come up with the answers. Most of us never take the next step, which is developing a strategy. So what do most...
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A thriving home environment is key to having a happy, healthy, and productive home. ...
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Summer is starting to fade away, and the reality hits us. Another school year is upon us. For many mothers the first day of school is a happy day. You get your time and space back. You can relax because you know your daughter is back...
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You know that your daughter needs a good night's sleep, but it's hard to implement. You tell her to go to bed, and she tells you that she has to finish her English paper. And what do you do? You cave. ...
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Why do you need a long-term perspective when parenting a teenager? The answer comes from the final Chapter in my book, Dial Down the Drama: Reducing Conflict and Reconnecting with Your Teenage Daughter. It's important to remember that we were once teenagers and we did a...
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All moms experience weariness. The reason being is that we are fighting the good fight for our family. We give and give and give. And often we don't spend the necessary time replenishing all that we pour out onto those we care about. Often, this...
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"How to be your daughter's (or son's) dream maker" is a complicated question. Your daughter or son may not know what they want to be when they grow up. Your son is set to get a scholarship for baseball in college but he decides his senior year...
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Have you ever felt like everyone in your family is driving your life? I had one mom tell me, "I feel like I'm my daughter's personal assistant. I wish I had one!" This episode is the practical "how to's" on how to recapture your life which...
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I live in Texas. Everyone in Texas rides a horse, right? (Well, maybe not in Houston.) One weekend I was visiting my sister in Austin. We went to see some friends who lived outside of Austin who had four horses on several acres of land. Her...
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What does your son or daughter need to thrive? This is an important question for both you and your teen. The answer is sometimes personal to your own taste, but often it is applicable to all of us. This is especially true for teens. One frequent...
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We call it multi-tasking. Women pride themselves for being able to do a million things at once. Here's my question. How's it working for you? My guess is that it's not working that well. Something is going to be compromised. It's not just that we are doing several...
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Laughter is medicine for the soul and has many health benefits. It helps you bond with your daughter. It decreases stress and releases the endorphins that make you feel good. In other words laughter helps you lighten up, enjoy your life and enjoy your relationships. But...
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The fourth of July is a day to celebrate our country's freedom. How about you? Do you need a little freedom? How about a little emotional freedom, especially when it comes to your daughter's drama? Your daughter can be happy, angry, sad, stressed, and hyper in a...
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The lazy days of summer are finally here. Hopefully you've had a chance to catch your breath and play a little bit. What are you hoping for this summer? I'm sure you and your daughter are expecting different things this summer. How old is your daughter? Now...
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Every mom wants to see her daughter making progress. You hope to witness your teen moving forward and progressing in their academics, creativity, relationships, responsibility and maturity. This yearning is instinctual in moms and feels like it is written in our DNA. Because this feeling is so...
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"How do I get my daughter to listen to me?" This is the big question for moms of teens. It seems so easy right? You tell your daughter what seems reasonable and you want her to listen to you. But actually we want more. We want...
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The last month of school can get crazy. Many of you have been living your lives at 100 miles per hour with all of the end of the year activities. ...
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"You can't tell me what to do!" Let's face it disciplining a defiant teen is challenging. Because parents often feel powerless when it's two hours past curfew, we can be flooded with a whole array of emotions. At this point we are not thinking clearly. This...
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