The Creepy Clown Craze and Your Child

In Menasha, Wisconsin on October 7,2016 a couple left their four-year-old child alone for the purpose of terrorizing their neighborhood with creepy clown pranks. These parents have been charged with neglect. (Click here for the story.) Creepy clowns are not just in Wisconsin. They have surfaced internationally. CNN reported parents are being asked to not allow their teens to dress up like clowns for Halloween.  I suspect with Halloween on the horizon it will only get worse. As October 31st drew nearer, I noticed an increase in bad dreams and night terrors. @themominitiativ @loriwildenberg #parenting Click To Tweet When my …

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Sunday School

Kids, Costumes and Dressing Up for Sunday School

Are some battles reserved for Sunday mornings? Despite our best intentions and Saturday planning, it may seem the Enemy and all his minions move against us. It’s no wonder we give in on Sunday to what we would refuse on a weekday. While it’s still mid-week, let’s talk about kids, costumes, and sabotaging Sunday School. We don’t leave Sunday morning decisions in the back of the car. We bring them in and send them to Sunday School. Because of that, we can’t afford to hope for the best with costumes and kiddos at church. What healthy, costume-owning child hasn’t imagined …

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How to Deal with Tattling

  Do you have a little tattletale on your hands? @themominitiativ @loriwildenberg Click To Tweet Do you have a little tattletale on your hands? Is tattling driving you CRAZY? When I was teaching elementary school, I found my first grade students had the potential to be Master Tattlers. In order to get through the day, especially recess time, I needed to develop some sort of system to reduce the annoying drone of the tattle. In class, we discussed the difference between being a Reporter or being a Tattler. Once we had the definitions down, the tattling decreased. When tattling did …

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“Grown-Up Time Out”

Lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, … teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up … -Deuteronomy 11:18-20 We all have those proud mom moments when our children surprise us and make us look like the mom of the year. You know… that rare family dinner out where all of the kids display their best table manners with no whining or crying and they …

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Are Power Struggles Your Kryptonite?

  Are power struggles your kryptonite?  Kids are in it to win it, aren’t they? They are all in when it comes to fighting for their way. Power struggles are exhausting for the parent. Exhilarating to the child. It has helped me to understand why power struggles occur. Then I am better able to avoid my parent kryptonite. So WHY?  Just ‘cuz. Just ‘cuz that is how we are all wired. One of our most basic needs is the need for freedom and independence. We need opportunities to make decisions for ourselves. Of course as parents  we know our end goal …

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The ADHD Bill of Rights – A Must Read for Every Parent

Can I be honest for a minute?  I have been lonely, angry, and guilt ridden. I know it’s summer, I know we are all busy, but what made issues for me more intense was realizing I had no one who understood what I was going through. Maybe they didn’t want to. Who knows? But, when you’re a mom of a child with ADHD and processing disorders, it’s a new ball game.  When you’re a mom of a child with ADHD and processing disorders, it’s a new ball game. Click To Tweet The rules of cause and effect don’t apply. Discipline …

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How to Build Resentment in Your Child

The goal: Keep the child happy. (seems good)  The trend: Be the child’s best pal. (sounds pleasant)  BUT…the reality is relationship without rules breeds resentment.  relationship without rules breeds resentment. Click To Tweet Here are the top 6  ways to increase bitterness in a child’s heart by being his all time best chum. The best bud parent:  1. is over-indulgent: Says yes to every material item and whim under the sun. The child never has to earn anything and doesn’t experience the chance to say, “Yes I worked for that.”  2. is unable to make a decision:  An indecisive  parent …

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A Letter to the Moms of Graduates

Hey Mom, Yeah, you. The one with the camera around your neck and the tissue in your purse. Your child is not so small anymore, is she? I see you watching her with a mixture of pride and sadness. It’s okay, to be both happy and sad all at the same time. Because this cap and gown that she’s wearing, it’s a wardrobe that reminds you that she’s growing up. Whether she’s about to go to first grade, or be a freshman in high school or leave home for college in the fall, she’s made it to this point, and all …

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How to find hope on the days that seem hopeless

As our girls were running around playing, my friend lamented to me the frustrations of her day. Her son got in trouble at school again, this time for biting. Her infant still isn’t sleeping through the night. Her husband is always at work and she feels like a caged lion, trapped in her home and ready to pounce. With every word she said, I got it. Don’t you? We all have those days, us mothers. Being a mom of three kids under five, I’m always running – either on adrenaline or exhaustion. A messy house is the norm and rest …

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I Am The Manager of Stuff

Well …at least the roll is within reach. I suppose if a box of tissue had been nearby the toilet paper may not have even made it to the counter. Fellow Mamas, have you noticed…we are the end of the line when it comes to household management ? We get the stuff. Organize the stuff. Toss the stuff. Locate the stuff. And donate the stuff. Why is it that I know where my daughter’s earrings, my son’s shoes, and husband’s wallet are? Click To Tweet Why is it that I know where my daughter’s earrings, my son’s shoes, and husband’s …

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