Bill Corbett

Children don’t often demonstrate respect because they either don’t know what it looks like or, as the Father of Individual Psychology, Alfred Adler taught us, their disrespectful behavior is their way of attempting to get unmet needs satisfied.  The secret to getting kids to treat their parents and others with respect is to first treat them with respect and to then help them find their place in the family or the classroom.  But the creators of the LOVE AND LOGIC parenting program would have you believe differently.  All parenting programs are not created equal and in my opinion, many are misguided and offer parents and teachers bad information.  It is my belief that we should not just be demanding and manipulating our kids to be more cooperative, we should be raising children who WANT to cooperate and be engaged in the family or classroom because they feel encouraged to do so. One of those programs that frequently offers misguided information and gimmicks...

It is incredibly frustrating when our child says "NO" to us.  If we react to it, they could feel more powerful than we want them to, causing them to do it more often.  Often times, they are saying no as a way of communicating that they need to feel more powerful.  We want our children to have the power to say no to others, so we must be careful how we handle their objections at home.  Here are five methods to gain a child’s cooperation.   No: Why Kids--of All Ages--Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It Don’t Overreact When They Tell You No .  Overreacting gives your children inappropriate power and may anger you.  If they refuse to comply, turn your original request into an entertaining activity in order to get it done.  Race them to the bath or tell them you’re going to pick up more puzzle pieces then they will.  If you find yourself becoming angry, walk away and let it go, and use one of the following ideas next time to be more...

Parents have many questions about assigning children household chores.  As children, some parents were assigned heavy chores, some were paid for them to be done, and others had no prescribed chores.  When two adults come together as parents but were raised with differing points of view on chores, they may become confused and unable to agree, and the child suffers.  Sometimes, I’m asked, “At what age should children be expected to start doing chores around the house?”  Many parents want to begin teaching their children responsibility and are eager to get them started.  They are also not sure what are age-appropriate chores for the different age groups? Board Dudes Magnetic Dry Erase Rewards Chore Chart (11020WA-4)                                   Children should be expected to begin help...

The word discipline is a variation of the word disciple, which means student or follower.  It is my belief that a parent or teacher must strive to teach children many positive lessons as they grow.  Discipline must never involve getting even with the child, making her pay for bad behavior, making her feel regret, or showing who's the boss.  What we must teach them through discipline includes: how to meet their needs appropriately, hear their inner voice for guidance and encouragement, to be self-sufficient, to draw boundaries, to create positive relationships, to solve their own problems, to take care of themselves, and more.   The best tool for helping children transition is at SchKIDules It is my opinion that the most effective methods for teaching children must be designed to treat the child with fairness and respect, using unconditional love.  They also  differ greatly from the methods used by our parents.   Because of this, they can be c...

That’s the quote from members of the Texas legislature as reported in a recent story released by ABC News .   It’s also a statement I have heard a zillion times from those questioning my parenting methodology that offers parents alternatives to spanking.   To those people I say, “That’s great that you turned out OK, but why not take measures so our kids turn out awesome, not just OK like you?”   These measures I’m referring to suggest removing the paddle from the parent (or teacher) toolbox. Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs In the story in which members of the Texas legislature were quoted (link here), a high school girl was paddled for allowing another student to copy her school work.  This female student chose to be paddled over a detention because she did not want to miss any classes.  The primary reason that it made the news was because, although her parents supported the punishment, they did not like the fact that she...

There are two Web sites attracting more and more children and teens that many parents are not aware of.   These sites are a danger to children and parents need to know about them now!   One is Omegle and the other is Chat Roulette, and they are both accessible from any Internet-enabled device, such as computers, iPads, kindle-like reader devices, tablets, and even smart phones. Cell Phone Kids Costume - Child Small These two sites are known as “video chat” Web sites and can be accessed by anyone with an Internet accessible device.  There is no security or sign up screens to go through and nothing verifies the user’s age.  Anyone can simply go to the site and begin conversing with any random person in the world without supervision or regulation. Law enforcement agencies in many cities have issued warnings to parents to keep their kids off of these sites.  The Web site boasts that it is a place where meeting strangers is OK but cautions that it is...

The answer is... YOU! At my lectures and workshops, I often tell the story of an incident that occurred when I was teaching my parenting class a few years ago.  I gave the class a simple homework assignment to see if they could find a unique and simple way of taking care of themselves that they have never done before.  It had to be something entirely new to them.  When they returned the following week to the 2nd session of the class, I asked the group, “Who did their homework and found a unique and simple way of taking care of themselves over the past week.”  Almost everyone raised a hand but when I asked if anyone would be willing to share it, most of the hands went down.  Healing Spa Bath And Body Products Therapy Gift Basket One mom did offer her idea.  She said, “I locked the bathroom door.” This produced laughter and giggles from the other parents, but when she further explained, she said she no longer allowed her young children to come...