I know we all get frustrated at times with our spouse, or with our children, but even in those frustrations, we must be so very careful that we never speak disparaging words about our children’s other parent or our children in front of our children to others.

Now you may not think you are guilty of this, but…perhaps you should listen anyway just to make sure. Parents, I know none of us want to break our children’s hearts.  This is one of those things that we can unknowingly form a habit doing and not even realize the damage we are causing.

Listen today, and let’s make sure we all guard our tongue so we do not fall into this trap.

Parents, we want our children to be treated with respect, honor and love.  We want our children to understand and believe how they should be treated.  We want them to be able to recognize when someone is mistreating them.  We want our children to have the courage, the self confidence and the grit, to be able to draw clear lines between acceptable and unacceptable behavior when it comes to how they are being treated.

What could you be doing now, that is teaching your children to accept being mistreated by others, especially their spouse?  Find out today in Monica’s episode.  Don’t wait.  Knowing these principles, can change the trajectory of your child’s life.

Hello and welcome back to Parent Wise with Monica Irvine.  Today, Monica shares some insight on what we can do when our child has a broken heart that not only helps them, but us as well.

One of the most difficult things to do as a parent, is to watch our children struggle and hurt, however, understanding the purpose in the struggle gives both us and them comfort.  There are many things that we can do as the parent, but there are a few things that we cannot do.

It’s when we try to do things that we are not designed to do, that we experience overwhelming anxiety and discouragement.  Find out today what those things are.

Listen now.

Do you ever listen to your child and think, “I cannot believe my child just said that!  Oh my word!”  Do you sometimes cringe when you hear your child answer a question or open a present from your in-laws?

Well, it might be time to sit down with them and have a purposeful lesson on tact.  Ladies and Gentlemen strive to be tactful at all times, however this never means that we speak untruths.  Listen today to learn how to gently teach this important life skill that honestly, can change a person’s life and those around them for the better.

It’s simple, but…sometimes “simple” is overlooked and then, it can be a mess!

I can’t wait for you to listen to today’s episode.  Implementing these skills into your parenting tool box is HUGE!!  Not only can you teach “initiative”, but in so doing, you will give your children incredible confidence.

Our children need to know that they have the power, the intelligence, the ‘know how’, the ability to take it upon themselves to do many many things.  Children should not feel like they can’t act unless someone tells them to do so.  If children don’t learn this skill, they will turn into adults who sit around and also wait to be told what to do.  Ask any boss, if they have people like this in their company and I promise you, they will tell you they do and it drives them CRAZY!

We want our children to feel empowered and it starts with helping them to think differently about their role in taking responsibility for many things.  I have given you 2 main ideas to implement with your family that are guaranteed to help create more initiative in your home.  You and your family will have fun as you discuss and put these ideas into practice.

Listen today and then stand back and enjoy the results!!

Today, we will be discussing how to identify when God is speaking to us, an essential skill that enables us to parent with more confidence, find greater peace in our life, and understand God’s will for us in even the smallest situations.

I know sometimes we feel like there is a wall between us and God and we fear the silence will not break.  Other times, we feel like we are too fallen or too broken for God to want to speak to us.  We constantly struggle with wondering, “Are these my thoughts or are they your thoughts God?”

Join us today to gain some perspective, some insight on how to determine if it is God who is speaking to us and what can we do to open the lines of communication more freely.

As mentioned in the podcast, for those of you who would like to learn more about our Teen IMPACT that is beginning on Feb 1, please click HERE.

Today, we are going to discuss the principle of “Loving our Enemies.”  I can’t think of a better topic to discuss in our current climate than this.

In the process of teaching our children to love their enemies, we will first, identify who our enemies are.  We have to know exactly who the Lord was speaking about when he gave us this council.

Second, we need to identify what does it look like and feel like to love someone.  I think we know how to do this, right?  I mean, surely we know how to love.

Finally, we will identify why this is important.  Surely the Lord doesn’t give us a commandment just for the fun of it.  Surely, there is purpose in all that he councils us.

Come, listen and let’s get excited to review the beautiful gift of Loving Our Enemies!

Don’t think it!  Don’t think this is not for you or your family.  Don’t think that this could never happen in your family and that it only happens in “THOSE” families!  That is not true.  It’s really not.

I know you don’t want to think about this.  I know you don’t want to hear the words or have these images in your mind but parents, I wouldn’t insist that you listen if I didn’t know that it was so necessary and so important.  I don’t like thinking about it any more than you do.  Please believe that.  But, we have an obligation to not only our own children but to all children to do everything in our power to keep them safe.  It starts with knowledge!

The more you know, the more you can keep your children safe.  Listen today and I will as gently as possible be as direct as I possibly can about things that you simply must know and must do.  I hope you listen.  I hope you act.  I hope you feel empowered knowing that you are equipping yourself to protect your children.

You are the LION!  You are the BEAR!  You are a parent!  Don’t wait.  Don’t put this off.  Listen TODAY!  You just never know how knowing these things could save a child, maybe even yours.

Parents, so many today are facing family dilemmas where adult children are choosing lifestyles in opposition than how they were raised and perhaps different from what their parents believe to be good and true.

I have been asked often in recent years, “How are we supposed to stay true to our principles based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet support and love our adult children who are choosing lifestyles different than those beliefs?”

Listen today, and consider the ideas spoken and hopefully, you will gain wisdom and insight how to move forward in your prayer life as you seek to continue to build up your family relationships.

One truth that I always hold tightly to is that, “We cannot influence those who do not know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we love them unconditionally.”  It is only then, that we can hope to continue to influence for good.

Listen now.

Oh this is fun!  Truly!

One of the best decisions I’ve made in my life is the decision to get organized with my children’s records and to help them understand this skill as well.  Today, I am going to share with you some great advice I was given and you are going to get excited about helping your children be proactive in their future success by understanding record keeping better.

Continuously, parents receive phone calls or texts from their children with questions like, “Mom, what’s my social security number?” or “Mom, what was the name of that guy that helped me complete my Eagle project?” or “Mom, did I ever get a measles vaccine?” or “MOM, help!  I need my birth certificate!” etc., etc.  Wouldn’t it be great if all of that information was located in a very accessible place and wouldn’t it be even better if your child had all of that information at that fingertips?  The answer is “YES!”

Make life easier by doing just a little work on the front end and then building the habit of great record keeping.  It will bless you and your children 1000 times over.

Listen TODAY!!