Why don’t my kids listen to me? Over the years I have made all of these mistakes and I’ve learned the hard way, so if you can relate then I’m feeling for you. Here are 27 reasons why my kids didn’t listen to me and how to get your kids to listen consistently every time.

The world has started to realize the importance of attachment parenting, the relationship between a child and parent from a young age – which is great! But how does that affect my teen, more than a decade later? What exactly is attachment parenting and what are the long-term benefits?

You feel like sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get your teen to open up and talk to you. Tell you about their life, their feelings, opinions, about decisions they need to make. And then finally it happens….

They open up and talk…. and talk…. and tell you things. And then…. You mess it up! You say the wrong thing, imply the wrong thing, and end up with a door slammed in your face. Here are the top tools you’ll need for effective teenage communication.

It’s so important for our children to experience natural consequences in life. As much as we want to protect our children from feeling pain or hurt, natural consequences prepare them for the real world. But how to put them into play practically? Here are the How, What and Whens of natural consequences.

When they get into that teenage space, even pre-teen, and you start to see these teen mood swings popping up here and there - sometimes it’s tears, sometimes anger, or just the good old blame game. Ever feel like whatever you do, it’s never enough. Here are some tips to managing the mood swings when they arise.

It’s often the shock of every couple when they’re baby is about 8 months old that they’ve hardly spent any time alone together since their infants arrival! Let’s face it, once you have kids you have less resources to nurture your relationship. Less time. Less money. And less freedom.

Here are some gems I’ve gleaned from interviewing countless couples who have growing families and have kept their love alive all the while.

I was 8 months pregnant at the time I’m sure she was overtired and had probably had too much sugar that day – she was just being a wild child. And then she bit me. Right in the stomach. My big round stomach which was super sensitive from carrying an oversize baby.

I SLAPPED HER.

Right across her cheek. It was like a knee jerk reaction, as if I had no control over it. I didn’t even blink an eye.Then the shock… and the tears…. Not just hers. Mine. Big wet hot tears. I hurt my child in anger. How could I do that? How could this happen?

Picture this scenario: Your son comes home hours after soccer practice and you want to know where he’s been. “Oh my bike broke down and I had to bring it over to Mike’s house to get it fixed.”

You look at your son and you’re thinking – hours? Did it really take hours to get it fixed? What was he really doing? Is he getting into something bad that he doesn’t want to tell me about?