Positive Discipline Parenting Blog
Sproutable's Positive Discipline blog.
Real tips. Real talk. Read & grow.
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Feelings, the First Foreign Language I Learned as a Parent
I was visiting a friend last week and we got to talking about Family Meetings (spend more than an hour with me and this family meeting thing is likely to come up). He rolled his[...]By Julietta Skoog
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My Emergent Identity as a Parent
I was having a really tough day. You know those days when everything seems to fall apart at the seams. When you didn’t get enough sleep, there’s no food for breakfast but the cold eggs your kid left behind and no amount of coffee will wake you up. On this rough morning, I just felt […]By Alanna Beebe
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Solutions: The Antidote to Consequences, Punishment and Rewards
One of my favorite classes in my counseling graduate program was Group Therapy. I loved reading Irvin Yalom’s big thick book that described all the stages a group goes through, then actually getting to participate in the experience and watching how it played out. In essence, every group starts out with some sort of orientation […]By Julietta Skoog
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Parenting Payback: Starting Young Reaps Rewards
I had this moment of panic as the plane left San Francisco on our way to Buenos Aires. Sandwiched between my ten and seven year old, I suddenly felt a physical ache as I began to fly further away from my two year old and husband back home. We would be gone two weeks and while the promised adventure of the eclipse, quality time with my sisters and mother, and connection with my older girls was sure to be worth it, nothing was guaranteed.By Julietta Skoog
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How to Stop Being a Lawn Mower Parent
It started with just a few questions. “Why do I have to go to preschool? Why do you have to go to work? Why can’t I have a babysitter stay home with me?” To these, as I was bustling about the kitchen getting dinner pulled together, I answered in a matter of fact and validating way.By Julietta Skoog
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When You are Not on the Same Parenting Page
The other day my nine-year-old came home from school super bummed. She grew teary describing her frustration with the inequity in P.E. teams made by the teacher. Time and time again, her team continued to lose while “all” of her other friends were on the other team. I validated her feelings, kept my face open and empathetic and gave her a big hug. “That must feel unfair. I would feel sad if I was playing against my friends too...By Julietta Skoog
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Growing Big Sisters
I was preparing for three babies, really. Not triplets, although many people asked, but one baby and two big sisters (who will always be my babies). I took the big sister preparation this time with somewhat of a strategy - before baby and right after.By Julietta Skoog
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