Search Results for: blog listen to me i know what im talking about

The Word “Maybe” Drives Me Crazy

For some reason lately, Dylan has become enamored with the word “maybe”. If he asks me for something and I say “no”, he pleads with me and asks me to say “maybe” instead. I’m not sure where he got that idea from, as I have been very careful not to use “maybe” with him. At the very least, I have been careful not to use it incorrectly. Of course, many of you might wonder what the big deal is. What’s wrong with “maybe”? I think that I summed up my feelings on “maybe” the other day, albeit during not one … Continue reading →

Gender Disappointment – It Does Happen Sometimes

Whether you are expecting your first child or a subsequent addition to the family, you are likely to have some feelings about what the new baby’s gender is. Also, no matter how hard you try to avoid thinking about the subject, you are likely to have some amount of desire for your baby to be a particular gender. With my first pregnancy, I wanted to have a little boy. When the ultrasound showed that I was indeed carrying a boy, I was elated. During my second pregnancy, I felt like I was carrying a girl and like I wanted to … Continue reading →

More Lessons on Learning to Listen

The other day I wrote about how I am still learning to listen. This is especially true in my relationship with my teen daughter. I referred to a book I am reading, “The 7 Desires of Every Heart.” One of the desires is to be heard, to be listened to. Once again something jumped off the page at me when I was reading further into the book. “Good listeners are those who don’t try and talk you out of your feelings.” Until I read that, I hadn’t recognized this as a problem for me. But I have been getting really … Continue reading →

Listen To Me, I Know What I’m Talking About

I have a confession, I’ve become a bit of a control freak. Ask anyone about the bad parts of single parenting and they will rattle off the list, finances, dealing with your ex, no down time, never getting a break, doing everything alone, and on and on. This is a list we all know too well but recently I discovered there is a side effect of single parenting that no one told me about- becoming a little controlling. I was wondering why I was always right and other people were doing everything wrong, now I know! I’ve become very set … Continue reading →

Morality in America

Do you really want to know what you are dealing with, when it comes to raising children today? Have you considered the morality of America…where we came from, where we are at and where we are heading? A Gallup poll was recently conducted on “Values & Beliefs” in America. The findings will help you better understand just what you are up against when it comes to the raising of your children. This isn’t meant as a way to make judgments but simply to enlighten parents. And hopefully with this enlightenment, there will be conversations with your children about what you … Continue reading →

I Can Hear You I’m Just Not Listening

If you are the parent of a toddler, chances are that you sometimes feel like your child can not hear what you are saying to him or her. Most toddlers can hear quite well, and that is usually not the problem. The problem is that they are not listening to the words that they are hearing from you. If this sounds like a familiar situation to you, you may want to take some time to think about how you say things to your child. It is possible that there might be some room for improvement regarding the clarity of the … Continue reading →

Are You Listening?

Our kids are constantly talking to us all day, every day, but are we taking the time to really listen to them? As a single parent there are a million things to do when you get home from work every day. You still need to cook dinner, do the laundry, sweep and mop the floor, pick up the house, get the kids ready for bed, and so much more. You don’t have much, if any time to yourself, so when your five year old comes running in to tell you every detail about what they did at school that day, … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Push Your Teen Away: Don’t Listen to Them (Part 1)

Okay, so I really doubt that any parent’s goal is to push their teen away. My hope is that this blog series gets your attention though. Because we may be doing the very thing we don’t mean to do. I know I have. One of the first ways you can push your teen away is to not listen to them. This can play out a couple of different ways. The first is that you are quicker about responding or reacting than you are listening. One of the Bible verses that I often rely upon in parenting is this: “Everyone should … Continue reading →

Show Your Teen You Are a Good Listener

I am definitely not an expert at parenting. I still have three children living at home with several years left, so I don’t claim to know it all. But there are some things I have learned that I believe could be a huge benefit to other parents. Even in the advice that I pass along, it doesn’t necessarily mean I have it down pat. I might still be working on it myself, which is the case here. If I could wrap up in one sentence what I would want to say to any parent when it comes to communication with … Continue reading →

LDS Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting

This past weekend I came down with a horrible cold. It peaked on Sunday, of course, making it where I missed my meetings. I was disappointed because I really do love attending church every Sunday. But, I was grateful that I had gone to the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast on Saturday. It boosted my spirit, and gave me the spiritual uplift I needed for the upcoming week. If you missed it, or are not currently in a leadership position requiring you to attend, then I strongly encourage you to go watch or listen to it, here. As always, listening to … Continue reading →