Positive Discipline Parenting Blog
Sproutable's Positive Discipline blog.
Real tips. Real talk. Read & grow.
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How to Help Your Teen Quit Vaping: A Compassionate Approach
As a parent, it can be incredibly difficult to watch your teen struggle with nicotine addiction. Whether they’ve just started vaping or have been using nicotine for years, the journey to quitting is rarely a[...]By Casey O'Roarty
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5 Ways to Use the Wheel of Choice
The Positive Discipline tool Wheel of Choice not only sounds like a carnival game, it is also a way to find the fun, teach independence, and increase intrinsic motivation through choice. We can all use a little bridge to support us through transitions, and this is especially true for kids.By Julietta Skoog
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Separation Anxiety
Saying goodbye is hard for everyone! Whether it is dropping off at daycare or school, or leaving them home with a caregiver or babysitter even if they are family, that moment of disconnection can feel painful for you both. Separation anxiety is common for our little ones, with a big peak between 9 and 12 months, and then again during the preschool years, when their sense of self and identity are growing by leaps and bounds. When separated from important adults in their life, they can feel scared. You are their safety net! This is a good sign showing positive attachment...By Julietta Skoog
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My Life with Boobs
I’m two weeks into this whole parenting thing, and so far, it’s unbelievably amazing. Thanks to the hormones allowing me to function on 2-hour increments (or sometimes 1 hr) of sleep, I’m coping pretty well. Here are my sleep-deprived and total overshare musings on how my body has changed thus far after having a baby. When I was pregnant, […]By Alanna Beebe
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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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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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Dental Care: Another thing I’m behind on
My baby has just turned 6 months old. SIX MONTHS OLD! How did this happen? Where did the time go? All of sudden last week his first little tooth popped through his gums. And now there’s another one right behind it. It’s time to start thinking about infant dental care. At first I was […]By Alanna Beebe
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My Kids Don’t Listen
It is infuriating to parents that their kids “won’t listen” and they report they have “tried everything.” I offer the reframe that very likely they ARE listening. They have heard you, but what you really mean is they aren’t obeying. Ironically, when we make the next list, which is life skills you want for your children when they are 25, blindly obeying is nowhere on it. Nor is doing what you’re told without question, or being passively compliant. If you don’t want it when they are all grown up, then you don’t get to have it when they are little. It doesn’t magically disappear.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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My 15 Month Roller Coaster
Having a baby is so taxing on the mind, body and spirit. It’s like riding one of those big roller coasters at a theme park where you are laughing and crying at the same time because it’s so thrilling yet scary. You may even pee your pants.By Alanna Beebe
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4 Days from My Due Date
This Is Not a Friends Episode It is amazing the way the human mind works. I had completely repressed the massive discomfort that week 39 brings from my memory. Now here I am once again, counting the days and hours, swinging recklessly back and forth between being so ready for it to be over (thanks […]By Julietta Skoog
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