By Ticily Medley, PhD Effective parenting can be a tough job! Parenting is a job that doesn’t require an application, prior training, or proof of skills to be filled. Most of us parents would probably benefit from taking a parenting class, but how many of us actually have such an opportunity? Instead, many people are thrown into the role of parent with few, if any, helpful … [Read more...]
4 Easy Ways Single Parents Can Raise Academic Achievers
By Renae Gylbert When I found myself raising my daughters alone in 2009, I refused to become the typical single parent sad story. Struggling, relying on welfare for years, being unemployed. And I knew the numbers were not in my favor. According to the Kids Count Organization, 67% of Black children were raised in single parent homes in 2013. Today, I am a happy single mom … [Read more...]
6 Serious (Yet Humorous) Concerns of a First Time Dad
"This baby is kicking your butt!" I swear I tell my wife this about once a week now. And if you don't know, we have our first baby on the way! As her "tummy" grows (I guess I sound more sensitive if I say that instead of stomach or belly) it's starting to hit me that THIS IS NOT A TEST! It seems like just yesterday we were two kids in college crushing on each other and now … [Read more...]
The Letter to My 10-Year-Old Daughter that Changed Our Relationship
A few months ago, I was at my wits’ end with my daughter who just happens to be a smidgen more stubborn than I am. We butt heads often because we’re so much alike. But I also understand that it has a great deal to do with the environment that our children are growing up in, which is so much different then the one many of us were raised in by our own parents. Disrespect? What … [Read more...]
11 Things I Wish I Knew About Motherhood Before Having Kids
Since becoming a mother, almost five years ago, I have learned more than I ever anticipated. Going into this, I knew I would learn a ton about parenting. After all, there is no manual and you figure things out as you go along. What I didn’t expect is how much I would learn about myself. Motherhood has brought all my flaws to light—in a very beneficial way—and it has forced me … [Read more...]
The 4 Most Valuable Lessons on Happiness I Learned from My 10-Year-Old
When I think about the things that made me happy as a child, it was usually simple stuff like the ice cream truck, playing jump rope with my friends or drinking Kool-Aid. Have you noticed how it seems to take so much more to make you happy the older you get? I’ve had to really ask myself why that was as I went through some changes in my life that caused me to re-think my … [Read more...]
9 Things Your Kids Need to Consistently Hear from You
I think one of the toughest things about being a parent is making peace with the mistakes you make. We all want to give our children the best in life, but we are human and often come up short. Coming up short can mean so many things, but one of the most common ways that parents actually come up short is by failing to tell their kids what they need to hear most. We buy nice … [Read more...]
From Single Mother to Wife – 3 Tips for Making the Transition
I was a single mother for 11 years, with 2 young sons, before I got married. They were 11 and 6 years at the time. I didnt plan for my life to turn out that way but it did. My life as a single mother was not terrible. Harder, yes. but not terrible. I had a good job, new car, owned my own home, etc. I worked hard and I played hard. Things had not worked out with my son's … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Help You Cope with an Empty Nest
When all of my sons were living at home, this house was in a state of complete chaos most of the time. There were 4 of them. Those boys ate us out of house and home. It seemed like things were broken all the time when they were here. Lamps broken from missed football passes in the living room. Dishes were broken from the irresponsible hands that washed them. I remember the … [Read more...]
Part Two: Mothers are You Raising Someone’s Spouse or Someone’s Burden?
In part one of my article titled “Mothers Are You Raising Someone’s Spouse or Someone’s Burden,” I addressed essential life skills that a young man should be taught to become a fully functioning, independent, self-sufficient adult. Basic life skills and values should be instilled in the very early stages of a young man’s development to give him a multitude of opportunities to … [Read more...]
One Amazingly Critical Thing Parents Need to Do
Our children want to be like us. Even if we don’t have it all together, they look at our lives, see how we live them, and often decide that they want the same. We are the people they admire most in the world. We serve as their model for what life after childhood can be like. And as parents, we do our best to expose our little ones to opportunities that can help them create … [Read more...]
What’s Really Behind Some of Our Parenting Challenges?
Months ago I remember having an issue with getting my son to listen. It was nothing too concerning but enough for me to notice that his behavior was changing. At first I figured it was just a phase, but that really didn’t sit right with me. Then I thought the kids at his preschool were negatively influencing him, but that just felt like a random stab in the dark, … [Read more...]
What’s in a Name: What do Your Kids Call You?
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of meeting some really great people. One of which was a very nice woman and her adorable daughter who was about 5. After spending more time with them, I noticed that the little girl would address her mom by her first name. Not one to question anyone else's parenting choices, although I didn't ask about it, I definitely thought it was odd. For … [Read more...]
9 Ways to Survive & Thrive When One of You Stays at Home with the Kids
For many families, the decision to have one parent stay home to care for the kids is not always an easy one. It takes a strong team to create a balanced household and ensure that things run smoothly on the financial and domestic fronts. My husband became a stay-at-home dad and full time student after he was laid off from his job during the recession. This was a new dynamic … [Read more...]
My Daughter is Growing Up – Dealing With My Own Painful Past
It was a warm summer evening with hints of Fall temperatures in the air as I sat on my sofa reading, I glanced outside and saw my beautiful little girl playing with her friends in the front yard. They were laughing and frolicking about and enjoying themselves as kids should. As I watched, I couldn’t help but marvel at their innocence. They are young and free, without a care … [Read more...]