ONE ON ONE TIME

Nothing use to frustrate me more than to listen to my children whine. You know what I mean. The constant complaining, nothing was good enough, nothing was right... I use to wonder what was wrong? What was causing them to be so miserable and cranky? Were they tired? Did they have a bad day? What in the world did I do wrong now?

At some point I discovered something that helped. If I spent even 15 min. to 1/2 hour every day with each child, one on one, their mood changed dramatically. Give them some individual undivided attention. This made me realize that maybe all the whining and misbehaving had simply been a cry for attention. "Look at me. Listen to me."

We all get so busy in our day to day lives, especially if you are a working parent. The last thing you want when you walk in the door is to be bombarded by demands for attention. But trust me. If you take the time to give them that individual attention it will make the rest of the evening go much more smoothly and it creates a much more harmonious atmosphere. It also lets your child know that you are there to listen to them and it helps to foster communication that can continue into the tougher teen years.