Practice Positive Discipline

National Spank Out Day – Positive Discipline Resources

April 30, 2012

April 30th is National Spank Out Day, which was established to promote non-violent discipline of children. Today, we aim to raise awareness about physical punishment for children, as well as educate parents about effective discipline practices that do not involve hitting and spanking. Here, we’ve listed some of API’s resources on positive discipline, as well [...]

Read the full article →

How to Raise a Disrespectful Teen

March 30, 2012

There have been a lot of opinions published online regarding the Dad who shot his teen daughters laptop. His whole point is that too many parents are being lax and ineffective and are raising spoiled, entitled children. I view it not so much as lax parenting, but uninformed parenting – the kind that increases the [...]

Read the full article →

Responding to Lying Positively

March 28, 2012

Like many new parents, I naively believed that once I got past the first few years of physically intense infant and toddler care, that surely the rest of childhood would be comparatively easy. By the time my third child came along, I learned to relish those early years. Children don’t get easier to raise the [...]

Read the full article →

Nighttime Parenting Isn’t Always Pretty

January 16, 2012

My first had always been a good sleeper. We co-slept through about 18 months or so, and when we moved, Little Man jumped right into his big-boy bed and that’s where he wanted to sleep. After I had my second child, we went through a phase where Little Man would wander into my bed in [...]

Read the full article →

The Man in The Yellow Hat Exemplifies Positive Discipline

December 12, 2011

A few of my parent friends have pointed out that as much as their kids enjoy watching the PBS show “Curious George”, George always gets into trouble (makes a mess, does something wrong, doesn’t stay where he’s supposed to, etc…) and nothing ever happens to him for it.  He never gets punished or has a [...]

Read the full article →

Reframing the Yes Environment

August 18, 2011

Many moms and dads have heard of the “Yes” environment before; it’s popular advice for parents of babies and toddlers.  When infants become mobile, we are advised to create an environment for them that is free of “No”s.  We baby proof everything; put small and dangerous objects out of reach, cover up safety hazards, lock [...]

Read the full article →

AP and Spanking Don’t Mix

July 27, 2011

Many parents, even many of those who are focused on creating a secure attachment with their child, spank as a form of discipline.  They may say things like… “I only spank when….” “I only spank after I’ve tried [XYZ] first.” “Spanking is OK when it’s done [a certain way], but not [a certain other way].” [...]

Read the full article →

Letter to that smart person with smart kids

June 24, 2011

Before anyone gets all paranoid, know that this goes for all ridiculously intelligent people with intelligent children. And know that I have astronomical standards for what constitutes plain ‘ol intelligent, much less ridiculously intelligent, so by nature, very few qualify. But if you do… I’m watching you. I’m making note of your every move. I’m [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries