Mother cradles newborn infant

Insights

Parenting Tips, Info, & Advice

Parents smiling with teenage daughter

Home | Podcast

A Raise? Why Pay Her At All?

March 16, 2023

On Friday last week, my daughter sat down with my husband and me and outlined her reasons, beyond what she included in her note to us, about why she deserved a raise for babysitting her little sister. She was nervous (she didn’t know we’d essentially already decided to give it), but she very rationally explained…

READ MORE

The Day My Daughter Asked for a Raise

March 9, 2023

At bedtime last night on International Women’s Day, I found a typed note from my teenage daughter resting on my pillow.  It wasn’t a note telling me how awesome I am (wishful thinking).  It was a note from her asking for a raise. Yup—you read that right, a raise. She babysits for our younger daughter…

READ MORE

Not Talking is No Laughing Matter

March 2, 2023

We’ve been lucky to have au pairs live with us for the last three years; it’s been a wonderful way to have flexible, affordable childcare, and to learn about different cultures. Because of this, I’m in a number of au pair/host family groups on Facebook, and saw an interesting post recently that I wanted to…

READ MORE

Questions to Ask *Before* a Playdate

January 15, 2023

As we have learned to live through and with Covid as a seemingly permanent part of our lives, playdates and gatherings are back in full force among kids and teens. But many of us are a *bit* out of practice. I’ve previously written about what to ask your child after a playdate, but there are…

READ MORE

Your Whole Life Audit – Are you a 10?

January 5, 2023

It’s hard to believe it’s 2023.  While there has been joy, there has also been a lot of tough stuff we’ve all made it through. So, if you’re reading this, frankly I think you deserve a “participation award” for making it through the last three years.  It’s high time the grown-ups get a blue ribbon…

READ MORE

When Your Child’s Friend Needs Help: What Next (Part 2 of 2)

November 17, 2022

Last week, I shared how the parental controls and monitoring we use alerted us to a serious issue affecting a child my daughter knows. The messages I read as they described what they were dealing with were heartbreaking. But this is not a child I know, or at least not well. I don’t know their…

READ MORE

When Your Child’s Friend Needs Help: Score One for Monitoring (Part 1 of 2)

November 10, 2022

Truth: My husband and I use both parental controls and monitoring for our daughter’s cell phone.  Yup, we’re the mean parents. 😉 It’s her first internet-connected phone, so using parental controls, we restrict the number of hours she can be on it, prohibit access to certain websites, apps, and content, and shut it off entirely…

READ MORE

Saving Our Kids From Disappointment: Good Idea?

November 3, 2022

When my daughter was little, I remember hanging out with other mamas, and hearing people say things like: “Thanks for the invitation.  I won’t tell little Molly that we’re coming until we’re knocking on the front door, because if it can’t happen for some reason, she’ll be so disappointed.” Can anyone relate? Found yourself in…

READ MORE

Bark is phenomenal monitoring software that parents can use to connect to 30+ platforms to monitor text messages, emails, and social activity for signs of harmful interactions and content.

To get a one-week trial and 20% off for life, use code BNDN7PF. 

Gabb allows parents to provide kids with a phone they can feel good about.  Many parents feel pressured into a smartphone purchase for safety reasons or because their kids want to be able to talk to their friends.

Get more information and receive an automatic discount on your child’s Gabb phone!

This phenomenal program designed for middle and high school students contains over 40 lessons designed to help students from ALL backgrounds become college and career-ready.

Use code SAVE100 to get $100 off lifetime access!

Christy Keating fun headshot

Christy Keating is a certified parent coach,  positive discipline educator, and motivational speaker. She is the founder and CEO of The Heartful Parent Collective, which includes Heartful Parent Coaching, Savvy Parents Safe Kids, and Heartful Parent Academy.

The mother of two amazing daughters, Christy strives to build a happier, healthier world - one child, one parent, and one family at a time.