Parenting Tips

The other day, I was in the car with all my children and we passed a very young woman on the sidewalk who was pushing a baby in a pram and screaming profanities at her toddler who had stopped a few steps behind her and was obviously tired and didn't want to walk further. I cringed and said something along the lines of "Oh my...wow..." I'm not bringing this incident up to slate the woman but only to pass on some parenting tips from someone who is a) incredibly short-tempered and b) had her oldest kids very young too.

(My Dad often used the phrase "Silence is golden, duct tape is silver.")

I don't want to stand up all preachy with my parenting hints and tips, however this picture is from my cousin's wall who is a preacher and I love how the encouragement to family life is integrated into every aspect of their lives:

I wrote the snippet below as a forum response for requested advice. Like I said I am not the most patient, these personal rules give me the opportunity to mentally count to ten and not have a knee jerk reaction.

As a final point, try to have a laugh with your kids, don't wrap them in bubblewrap or start a sue culture if they get a boo-boo.