Priceless Parenting Blog

Do carrots and sticks work well to motivate children? Will the promise of a reward for practicing the piano help our child practice more? Or will the threat of punishment be more effective?  According to Daniel Pink’s latest book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, external rewards and punishment...

Read more

What do you do if you think your baby might be developmentally delayed?  First it's helpful to know the developmental milestones children are expected to reach at different ages.  Information on developmental milestones for ages 3 months to 5-years-old is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. If...

Read more

A mom recently told me that her son was suffering from Wii-gression. What? Some new disease I’ve never heard of before? Yes. She explained it is caused by a child getting a Wii game system and once again having meltdowns and tantrums – behaviors that had been extinguished years ago....

Read more

One of a parents worst nightmares is that their child would be sexually abused.  Unfortunately, by age 18, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys have been sexually abused.  In 90% of the cases, the abuser is a family member or someone else known to the child. How do...

Read more

Parents of high school teens are navigating through a sea of change. They face some tough sailing through these rough waters! Going through the college application process brings out strong emotions in both teens and parents. Teens are filled with excitement and anticipation while parents are often unprepared for...

Read more

One mom wrote that her 9-year-old daughter would start whining and fussing whenever they gave her a task or asked her to do her homework. Even though she was capable of doing these tasks, she would say things like “I can’t do it.” “I don’t want to do that.” “Why do I have...

Read more

A grandmother wrote to “Ask Amy” expressing concern over her 3-year-old grandson’s lack of discipline. “The parents have opted for a ‘no-spank’ approach to child discipline, which I support. However, what I see is essentially no discipline. They say things like, ‘That’s not nice’ and ‘You shouldn’t do that,’ but...

Read more

You might think … the internet has lots of parenting information. Why do I need a class? The real question is … how can I bridge the gap between reading information and the daily practice of good parenting skills, so I can improve life with my kids? Today I want to tell...

Read more

As leader in your family, what is your investment ...? - To learn better parenting? - To raise more responsible kids? - To have more fun...a happier family? Do you ever think about your Return On Investment [ROI] in better parenting? Today's video focuses on three things ... 1. Benefits - what you...

Read more

When parents bring their much anticipated, sweet baby home, they are often focused on all the joy this little one will bring to their lives. What becomes painstakingly clear is that they are also leaving behind their old, more carefree lives. In his book, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes,...

Read more

I met with Shaniqua Manning from NorthWest Cable News to discuss the recent study from Norton Family Online showing that the fourth most popular search term for children, even those 7 and under, is sex or porn. Click this picture to see the interview: ...

Read more

We all want the best for our kids, and it is frustrating when kids don't cooperate and we are not having fun together. We should be having fun together. 2010 is a new year and it is time to add some new approaches to PricelessParenting.com training. I am thrilled about the...

Read more

Do you make more positive comments or negative comments to your children? If you're like most parents, you make a lot more negative comments than positive ones. In her book, Building Moral Intelligence, Dr. Michele Borba writes "studies reveal that the average parent makes 18 critical comments to...

Read more

McClure Middle School in Seattle recently suspended 28 students for allegedly bullying a classmate through Facebook.  Apparently a Facebook page was created that students could sign up for if they didn't like a certain student.  When the problem was discovered, the page was taken down and the school began conversations...

Read more

Norton Family Online released the most searched for terms by children in 2009. Across all three age groups (7 and under, 8 - 12, 13 - 18) sex or porn was in the #4 spot for most search for terms. Yikes! They gathered this data from parents using...

Read more

Once children are tweens or teens, many parents ground their children as a generic consequence to misbehavior. The hope is that by requiring teens to stay at home and not be with friends, teens will learn to make better choices. However, teens are probably more likely to spend...

Read more

Bullying is a problem for many children. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Stop Bullying Now web site:"Bullying is more common than many adults realize. Most studies show that between 15-25% of American students are bullied with some frequency."This site provides a rich set of...

Read more

Last weekend after enjoying dinner with some friends, my 17-year-old daughter, Kristie, her friend Sara and I were in the kitchen cleaning up. Sara asked Kristie how her gymnastics season was going this year. Kristie responded, “Well, I’m not really that good but I’m having fun.”What? ...

Read more

If you spend time with preschoolers, you have undoubtedly been asked many questions which start with "why". "Why do I have to go to bed?" "Why are the leaves falling off the trees?" "Why can't I watch more TV?" Young children are trying to learn more about how the...

Read more

Recently I was at a hotel pool enjoying sitting in the hot tub while a number of children and parents were splashing around in the nearby pool. I noticed one dad who was encouraging his young daughter, who was probably about 4-years-old, to swim out to him. He...

Read more

Some of the most entertaining parenting books I’ve read are those written by Anthony Wolf. Like his other books, The Secret of Parenting: How to Be in Charge of Today's Kids--from Toddlers to Preteens--Without Threats or Punishment is filled practical advice using plenty of humor. In this book...

Read more

In this season of holy days and holidays, find a time to gather your family and light a candle. Share a moment of peace together. Ask everyone to think of one wish they have for the world and one thing they could do to help make that wish...

Read more

Part of being a teenager is separating and individuating your parents. This includes trying on new ideas, especially ideas that don’t match your parents’ ideas! Mark was exasperated with his son’s lack of appreciation for learning a foreign language. Zach was taking Spanish in school and...

Read more

When families gather together for a celebration, each participant brings their own history, behavior and expectations. When these different expectations and behaviors clash, the celebrations are often far from the peaceful, loving gatherings depicted in TV holiday commercials! However, when common problems can be anticipated and planned for...

Read more

Ann described how she helped her foster daughter, Megan, appreciate the impact all her past problems were having on her current life. Ann gathered a big pile of different size rocks. For each problem from Megan’s past, like how poorly she was treated by her mother, Ann instructed...

Read more