Search Results for: blog disagreements in parenting

When Your Marriage Faces Parenting Challenges

It’s been an interesting week in our home. There are points in time that everything is going along fairly smoothly. There may be a bump or two in the road, but nothing major. Then suddenly you have a week where all three of your preteen and teen children decide to test the waters or stretch your patience or whatever it may be. Suddenly your marriage finds itself being tested as well. Navigating through the relationship of a husband and wife is challenging enough without throwing into the mix some children. Now you have additional relationships to work through. Then there … Continue reading →

Disagreements in Parenting

One area that is well-known to be a source of contention for many married couples is the raising of the children. Oftentimes couples come from different types of homes and take from that into their own parenting. If the couple has a completely different idea on how to raise the children, this can cause strife that lasts for years. It can also become part of the reason that a marriage falls apart. Surprisingly, this has not been a huge issue for my husband and me. Despite our vastly different upbringing, we have gone into our parenting with the same mindset. … Continue reading →

New Single Parents Blogger

Screaming kids, dishes piled high in the sink, past-due bills, and one person who is solely responsible for it all. Such is the life as a single parent, a life I am quite experienced with. My name is Jacky Gamble, and I am the newest blogger to the Single Parents blog. I first became a single parent at the age of 20, when my daughter was just 6 months old. Her father was not in the picture and failed to pay any child support. I was left to raise and support her on my own. When she was 6 years … Continue reading →

What Is Your Marriage Teaching Your Children?

An often overlooked area in a marriage is the influence it has upon the children. Have you ever really thought about the message you are sending your children concerning marriage? Marriage isn’t just about two people if you have children. Your marriage is a huge factor in decisions they will make in the future, including what to look for in a mate. How you treat your spouse speaks volumes to our children. If boys see their father as an overbearing, cruel husband…what do you think is going to happen when that little boy grows up? If girls see their mothers … Continue reading →

Relieving Tension in the Home

If there is one word that can sometimes describe the teen years, it is “tense.” There can be a lot of tension in the home, especially when you are dealing with certain challenges or disagreements. The reality is that our teens won’t always agree with us and they will almost certainly challenge us to some degree. It is easy to get wrapped up in those moments. It is easy to succumb to the temptations of acting just like them. It is easy to get into a shouting match or suddenly find yourself in a place where you don’t know who … 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 →

Getting Along with Your Ex

It can be hard to get along with an ex. Clearly you struggled with this while you were married or you wouldn’t be in this situation, but now the tension is even greater. Emotions are high on both sides in the divorce. You both love your children and want to be with them and because of those deep feelings you don’t always think rationally about them. You don’t have to be best friends, but you are linked together for life, so you might as well make the best of it. Studies show that children have a much easier time adapting … Continue reading →

How Children Learn About Conflict Resolution

Like most couples, my husband and I argue. We don’t go behind closed doors though; we don’t believe that’s the best thing for our children, despite what other parents might think. When my husband and I argue, we have loud disagreements. We don’t spit out profanities but our voices naturally rise. Our children know we are fighting. The thing with our disagreements though is that we always talk through them and they don’t last very long. We come full circle. We start with something that upset us, we vent about it, and we calm down, talk about it and then … Continue reading →

Taking a Break from Your Teen

I remember when my kids were little, getting away for a night or a weekend was a welcomed break. Some parents don’t believe in this…that it somehow makes you less of a mom but I know that the break wasn’t only good for me; it was good for my children as well. I am finding this to be true even now as they are getting older. Having teenagers can be exhausting at times, not necessarily in a physical way but emotionally. So I have to admit, that my daughter going away this weekend is a nice break. We actually both … Continue reading →

Quality Time with Your Spouse

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the importance of getting away with your spouse. We were about to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and despite original plans to take this romantic vacation to Maine, it had all blown up because of finances. But in the end I was grateful since it was during the time of the hurricane that we would have been there. The day before our 20th wedding anniversary we went back and forth with ideas on what we could do. We wanted to get away for the entire day but not spend a lot of … Continue reading →