Vicki Hoefle's Blog, page 23

Summer Planning: Have Some FUN with the Kiddos

Summer is almost here and it’s time to get the creative juices flowing and ask: HOW can we have some more fun as a family? What do we want to do? What do my family members find interesting these days? What would the kids like to do with downtime? How will you stay on schedules [...]

Thinking Kids are Way More Fun to Raise than Zombies

We’ve all encountered a zombie kid—you know, that do-as-you’re-told fellow with textbook manners, neat clothing, exquisite restraint, sticky sweet personality with entirely nothing to say for himself. Sure, he’s compliant, he’ll follow orders, never talk back but he’s definitely not learning to challenge the world around him. Of course, it’s not his fault, he’s been [...]

What Does it Take to Raise a Thinking Child?

Parents are so immersed in the day-to-day challenge of juggling work, family and kids – they can (often unknowingly) find themselves doing great disservice to their children in an honest attempt to simply make things easier and more efficient – for everyone. While this might be easier in the moment, it is undeniably detrimental to [...]

Duct Tape Those Emotions OUT (Invite Natural Consequences IN)

As a parent, if you ever find yourself in a place where you want to “teach a lesson,” but you think you’d like to choose the relationship, remember that the world is already set up to help your child learn lessons with nearly every event, decision, and mistake. The daily grind of life offers kids [...]

Using Natural Consequences to Teach Life Lessons

Parents often say, I understand what natural consequences are (by definition), but it’s unclear how to use them as a parenting strategy. Let’s start here. The Definition of Natural Consequences: Natural Consequences are the natural responses to a child’s choice with NO parental involvement. What Natural Consequences Look Like: Natural consequences can be feedback of [...]

Quality Parenting is About One Thing: The Relationship

I understand how hard it can be for a parent raising a child in the 21st century to figure out the parenting approach that will work best for them. There are so many conflicting opinions and perspectives on what “good parenting” is and is not.  Since everyone else is chiming in, debating and making their [...]

Sh*t Thinking Kids Can Do (See for yourself!)

Thinking kids bring problem solving, skill practice, ingenuity and enthusiasm to the table when it comes to contributions, chores, work, cooperation and preparation. But hey, why tell you when we can show you? (Thank you to all the parents who have sent these in and/or shared them with us! We love sharing them with other [...]

Crank Up the Tunes and Boogie: Creative Spring Cleaning With Kids

Recently, a parent asked: “I can be pretty flexible when it comes to a spotless house – but every once in a while I REALLY need the kids to step up their game and help me out. How do I do that without becoming the nag?” Truthfully, I can set completely unrealistic, over the top [...]

5 Super Simplifying Tips for Spring from Minimalist Parenting

Spring is powerful — nature’s energy is at work all around us. Everyone can sense things are about to shift (especially the kiddos) as anticipation builds for those longer, warmer summer days. (Not, yet though!) Let’s ward off the final stretches of cabin fever and jumpstart our spring cleaning with fresh thinking on SIMPLIFYING life [...]

Parenting Inspiration: 10 Refreshed Quotes and Thoughts Just for Spring!

This week is the perfect time to refresh our thinking, dust off some classics and roll out a handful of SHINY NEW images, quotes, pics and pins. Have a wonderful week. It’s time to reboot! Can’t see the images? Visit us on Pinterest or Facebook!