I found an interesting article that discusses the idea of having kids make restitution instead of punishing them as a way to have them TRULY learn the lesson we want them to.

Here's an excerpt...

"The Difference Between Punishing Teens and Having Teens Make Restitution Punishment is like jail. Making restitution is like community service. Punishing teens requires that teens simply endure the time. Making restitution requires that teens take a proactive role and pay back for their mistake or misbehavior. Punishment may make parents feel better but it doesn’t hold children accountable for their actions.

"Parents may want to ask themselves the following questions when exploring ways to discipline teens:

• What responsibility skills is my teen learning by having to do without a privilege?
• What responsibility skills is my teen learning by spending time and energy to make restitution?

"Learning new skills requires active practice. Teens will learn more about responsibility by actually "practicing responsibility" through making restitution."

Read the rest of the article here:
"Teach Responsibility Instead of Punishing Teens"

There is a great article over at http://www.keepkidshealthy.com that gives some tips on parenting a child with ADHD.

Here are the first 6 tips of the 17 tips they provide...

1. Accept that there is a problem, whether or not you accept the diagnosis.  Denial will not help you or your child.

2. Do not expend energy grieving that your child is "labeled."  No, it's not fair but grieving will not make things better.  Take some time to pull yourself together -- then get on with parenting your child.

3. Be prepared to feel guilty about the time you spend parenting your ADHD child compared to the time you spend with other family members.  Be prepared for backlash you may get caught-up in as a result of other family members feeling neglected.

4. You will have to look deep within yourself to find patience.  Patience dealing with your child, patience waiting for appointments, patience waiting for test results, patience when working with the school district, patience, patience, patience.

5. In general, all children need structure.  ADHD children require more structure, routine and consistency.

6. Behavior management plans do not work overnight -- many times it takes two to three months to see results -- sometimes longer. 

The rest of the tips are great too.  And some apply to any/all kids...

CHECK OUT ALL 17 TIPS ON PARENTING A CHILD WITH ADHD HERE!

Kids always look forward to summer, but once it comes it's easy for them to become bored.  And as parents, it's sometimes hard to come up with ideas to keep your kids busy during the summer.

Wouldn't be great to have a big list you could borrow ideas from?

Well, the folks over at Homeschool.com have a great list you should take a look at!  It's called, "101 Things To Do This Summer".

The list contains some really great ideas.  Here are a few examples:

• Have a picnic.
• Go to a ballgame.
• Visit a farm.
• Cut up an old greeting card picture and make a puzzle (with parent help)
• Make an obstacle course in your back yard

CHECKOUT THE OTHER 96 IDEAS HERE!

Two ideas of how to use this list:

1. You could print up the list at the beginning of the summer and look it over with your child.  You could decide together what activities and ideas you want to use and choose what days of the summer you want to do them.

2. Another idea you could take 30 of the easiest ideas/activities that don't take a lot of planning or preparation and write them on 30 slips of paper and put them in a basket.  When your child is bored they can reach into the basket and pull out an idea!

Momsense magazine has a great article on how to set boundaries for kids who won't behave or respond to discipline.

The question that is asked on the site is this...

"Q: My 3-year-old son refuses to go to timeout. When I physically put him there, he won't stay or he starts hitting and kicking. Spanking doesn't seem like a valid response to him being physical. What should I do?"

The answer they give is avery important one for parents to learn...

"A: It sounds as though your son is not the compliant type--but no need to despair. First let's focus on your wording, "He refuses to go to timeout." The first thing to clarify is that you are the one truly in charge. So, your son's refusal to do something is not an option. Tell him this in the beginning and then add the following ingredients to the mix:

Warn him about his behavior—before he does something. Explain to him, "Johnny, if you do that again, you'll have to go to timeout for two minutes." It's important to build a cause and effect related to his behavior. Sometimes, kids get put in timeout and have no idea why or didn't have a chance to get in control of their choices. They just misbehave and find themselves there, which does not build self-control. We suggest "two minutes" in this instance because..."

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE >

We look forward to providing WBCA parents and parents in the area helpful information to help you teach your children and raise them to be the best they can be. 

We will do this by both writing posts and linking to articles that we think you'll find helpful.  Please subscribe now by RSS feed or email so you'll be updated when we post new content!