Susan Merrill's Blog, page 6

What Will Your Child Struggle With This Year?

When Emily (my second child) went to kindergarten she had a totally different experience than Megan (my first child). Same school, same teacher but not the same kind of year. By the end of Emily’s year, I was mildly concerned and asked for a conference to discuss a few of my observations.

A good teacher is always teaching and on this day Emily’s wise teacher taught me. I learned a lesson that has served me well. This is what she said.

“Susan, you are observing something that I have observed f...

How to Handle Your Child’s “Frenemy”

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Have you ever had a “frenemy?” That friend who goes through the motions of being a friend and even says that you’re good friends, but who routinely does things to hurt your feelings, dash your confidence, or stir up trouble? It can be exhausting to deal with a person like that—trying to decipher the passive-aggressive slights and figure out if she is someone you can trust. Can you imagine how much harder it is for your child? That’s why you need to know how to handle your child’s frenemies, M...

Anger: Face It, Find It, Figure it Out

In a candid moment around the dinner table discussing personality traits, my kids told me I can be angry. I protested but they had a point and I had no excuse. You see, whether you have one child or five, whether you work in the home or out, we all can get frustrated and angry at one point or another. Anger has a way of sneaking up on us. Somehow small moments of frustration can quickly escalate into anger. Getting to the root of our anger will help us all to deal with the emotions in a healt...

5 Ways to Build a Strong Mom-Daughter Bond

A strong mom-daughter bond is not a given! Just like every relationship the mother daughter relationship is vulnerable. So many things can come between a mom and her daughter, not the least of which is hormones! I have three daughters and my relationship with each has been different because they are different. Personality, temperaments, experiences—all of these can affect your relationship with your daughter. And because of these variables, I have had to work harder at having a good relations...

8 Things Parents Should Do for their Kids Every Day

There are lots of things parents do for their kids. In fact, the list is endless. And, while all are important, they are not all equal. And that is the problem. Sometimes the less important but seemingly urgent tasks like packing lunches and helping with homework take precedent over deeper, more meaningful things that help build connection. So, to bring the important things to the top, here are 8 things parents should do for their kids daily.

1. Be fully present

As parents we can get distract...

How Do You Struggle with Life?

I came to a jarring realization two days ago–a positive aspect of my DNA has become a negative. And I am struggling with life.

I have always loved to ponder about people and life. I have written about this before and I believe we must ponder (give consideration to, pray about) to love others well (our husband, children, friends). 

But pondering people and situations with optimism, reflection, and hope has turned to struggling with pessimism, panic, and despair. How did this happen? How do you...

4 Ways to Fight for Your Marriage

You and your spouse are allies—not enemies. Did you get that? You may be thinking: well, of course, we aren’t enemies! But you’d be surprised. I remember when my sister and I were young and we were sharing a room. Technically, we shared a room, but we did not want to share the same ‘space’, so we took tape and put it down the middle of the room so as to deter one another from going into the other’s space. You could be doing the same thing subconsciously in your marriage—you might have drawn a...

Drs. Warn About Your Child & the Forbidden Apple as iPhone Turns 10

Bar Taco was packed, as usual, but we got a table along the outer wall. I grabbed the comfy bench and sat facing Mark and the animated crowd inside. Standing next to me, on the bench that ran the entire length of the wall, was a toddler. She was happily playing on an iPad while the three women at her table chatted and laughed. Over Mark’s shoulder, I saw the back of a baby sitting in a high chair. He must have been around eighteen months. His parents sat across from each other enjoying a quie...

Affair-Proof Your Marriage

Have you ever thought about how you can help your spouse from having an affair? It’s easy to think that they are solely responsible for their actions, and in large part, they are! But, here are a few ways that you can help affair-proof your marriage from a segment we did for channel 5 in Nashville. 

 

If you’re wanting to dive into affair-proofing a little further, here are some ways that you might be encouraging an affair without even knowing it. 

8 Habits to Break as a Family

There are some things Mark and I learned along the way in parenting that we spent way too much time learning, so don’t make the same mistakes! Good habits take time to form. Here are 8 Habits to Break as a Family—work on them with yours. Trust me, you will be thankful you didn’t waste your time or opportunities! 

Bickering

This one is tough. It is something that can be a big distraction for the family! With our big family, I had to find quick ways to deal with it. For example, when we would...