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unnecessarywisdom

unnecessarywisdom has written 71 posts for unnecessarywisdom

Why You Should Lie to Your Kids

I’m a big fan of honesty in relationships. I especially like to be honest with my kids because I want to have a close and genuine bond with them for life. Good relationships are built on trust and, of course, that requires honesty. But I was recently asked if it was ever appropriate to lie … Continue reading

The Ugly Truth About Depression

To this day, we still don’t like to talk about mental illness. We’ve gotten a lot better, for sure, but it’s still seen as a defect, character weakness or the potential to do harm. We are scared of it, we are scared of those with it, we don’t really want to know about it. The … Continue reading

Letterboxing: An International Treasure Hunt

Now that summer is here, many of us are stretching our imaginations to keep our kids engaged. Even more difficult than finding good ideas are good ideas that are affordable and seriously fun. My cousin told me once about this extremely unusual and ancient game called Letterboxing. When I looked into I was surprised I’d … Continue reading

Alternatives to Spanking for Common Toddler Behavior Problems

I’ve noticed that most parents who spank really don’t want to. They feel that they must spank their child in order to achieve proper behavior, teach a lesson or just in general, produce a good citizen. There seems to be a general frustration among many parents in simply not knowing what else to do when … Continue reading

Taking Care of You

We spend a lot time taking care of our kids, trying to be better parents, trying to run our household, trying to be good partners and good sons and daughters. We are constantly on the hunt for the next trick in shopping, cleaning, beauty, parenting, relationships, anything to make life go along just a little … Continue reading

How I Know For a Fact That Children Are Not Morons

I’m still surprised and dismayed at the many articles and discourse I see online discussing whether or not children are just immature, sneaky, manipulative little creatures who require extensive breaking to become sufficiently molded to adapt to the human world. I’ve always operated on the concept that my kids are legitimate humans with real souls … Continue reading

Why Do Fathers Matter? A Wounded Daughter’s Perspective

This weekend is Father’s Day. Today we focus on our fathers and our love for them. We focus on everything we love and appreciate about our fathers. Some of us didn’t have great fathers. I didn’t. I love my father. But he hurt me terribly. And I’m no longer married to my children’s father. That … Continue reading

How Attachment Parenting Produces Independent Kids

Children are in our care for a limited amount of time generally spanning two decades. During that time, their needs change drastically, yet gradually from year to year. I’ve always found it odd that the principles of attachment parenting are criticized as promoting dependence in children when, if you analyze the proper development of independence … Continue reading

Sexual Molestation: Don’t Let Your Child Become a Victim

I was molested as a child. Sadly, this does not make me unique. One in four women will be sexually abused in her lifetime and one in six men. This is not reassuring to any parent. But we need to understand that this is a real risk to our kids. And we need to understand … Continue reading

Kid Confessions: But Daddy Never Says “No”

I hate telling my kids, “No.” I hate to see the disappointment. I hate the arguments. I hate the frustration. But, I do it anyway. “No,” is a necessary part of life, part of my job as a mother, and one of the words I use to establish limits and boundaries. I’ve always been extremely … Continue reading

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