Earlier this week, I saw an article headline about bullying and jiu-jitsu. I finally read it and was pretty impressed.

Today a read a new comment on the post “When a Depressed Spouse Refuses Help” and was inspired to write a long response. It got long enough that I decided to make it a separate post for everyone to see more easily.

School finally started for us here and we’re still working on some transitions. Just checking in with you to see how you and your family members are adjusting to everything.

‘Tis the season for school transitions, and I’m running into a lot of clutter in my house. Clutter in the closets, clutter in the dressers, clutter in the garage, clutter in the storage room, even the laundry room and the pantry. Projects-in-progress, off-season clothes, clothes that don’t fit, the leftovers from the county fair – and I can easily imagine what it will be like when the constant influx of school papers starts soon.

Hello everyone! Today you’re getting a double scoop of parenting advice articles. I found it a little amusing that these articles both came to my attention in the same week.

Wow – lots of things to get to this week in the world of mental health. For today, I want to react to an upcoming episode of iCarly that I saw advertised.

Yeah, I know.  That headline makes it sound too easy.  I’m not implying that within this post lies the magic secret to perfect peace with your children.  Conflict is normal and not every conflictual conversation is an argument.  I’m keeping this really simple not because it’s easy to do, but because it is difficult.  Emotions can run strong when you and your child start to argue.  It’s so easy to get sucked in, so I want you to have a simple concept to keep you focused.

Here’s an example of a typical argument-starter you might encounter:

“Jeff, it’s time to get ready for bed.”

“What? That isn’t fair!  Why did she get to stay up so late?”