Parenting On Track™

Put an End to the Praise-Junkie

VickiHoefle — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:17:11 +0000

What’s a Praise-Junkie? A Praise Junkie is a child who depends on their parents to give them constant feedback on what a “Great job they are doing” and “How proud they are of them?” It’s the child who asks “Do you like it?”, “Did I do a good job?”, “Are you proud of me?”, “Did I [...]

Pay It Forward

VickiHoefle — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:37:04 +0000

We’ve spent some time this month talking about strengthening the relationships we have with our families—our spouses and our children. One relationship that isn’t talked about as often is the relationship we have with our community. In many ways, this relationship needs just as much attention as the one we continue to grow and foster [...]

Parenting Boot Camp with Vicki

VickiHoefle — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:37:43 +0000

The first Parenting Boot Camp was nothing short of FABULOUS. A small group of committed, enthusiastic, and courageous parents joined me for this event and what a day it was. The day started with a live Family Meeting demonstration with my own five kids which sparked a lively conversation that set the tone for the [...]

Stop the Fighting

VickiHoefle — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:38:18 +0000

The news media, blogging world, and twitters alike have all had a lot to say about Madlyn Primoff, the New York mother of two squabbling tweener girls who dropped them off on the side of road and drove off without them. For those of you who would rather save yourself the time, the trouble, and [...]

Dusting Out the Nest

VickiHoefle — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:14:46 +0000

Here we are again—graduation time. Some of you have kids graduating from high school or college, and some from pre-school. This can be a time of joy, sadness, anticipation, regret, satisfaction, relief and oh, about a hundred other adjectives. And you’re not the only one with emotions flying. Your children are feeling all those feelings [...]

The Reason

VickiHoefle — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:59:11 +0000

We’ve all had days when we look at our adorable child, who is anything BUT adorable at the moment because they are screaming or arguing or doing something else just as unpleasant, and we say to ourselves, “I really signed up for THIS?” followed by, “How did I get here?” or “How do I get [...]

Communication 101

VickiHoefle — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:40:59 +0000

So much of what we do here at Parenting On Track™ is focused on enhancing the relationship we have with our children. Once we become parents, we tend to focus on our kids, and sometimes this concentration can come at the expense of the relationship we have with our spouse. Even though this may be [...]

Turn No! Into Yes…

VickiHoefle — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:35:40 +0000

No, you may NOT watch another TV show… No, you may not touch that; you are too young… No, you may not go to Johnnie’s house… No, because I just don’t want you to… No, you may not have something to eat 30 minutes before dinner… No, no, no (can you picture the finger wagging here?)… Do you ever feel like [...]

This Connection is a Little Fuzzy

VickiHoefle — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:57:58 +0000

I’m not sure when small children became something that needed fixing. Personally, I don’t believe that any child is broken. Their behavior might be problematic and their intentions with their behavior might be mistaken—but they certainly aren’t broken. Not only that, but I think most parents I know want to get away from (or avoid [...]

Parenting is a Journey? I Think I Need Directions!

VickiHoefle — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:18:41 +0000

Have you ever felt more like a firefighter than a parent? You don’t seem to have time to put any real thought into caring for your children because you are too busy putting out small fires all day long, hoping that you aren’t faced with a wildfire that consumes the family before you make it [...]