The holidays descended upon us quickly after my husband and I married mid-October and began our new life together. My expectations of a joyous holiday season faded as the reality of combining two households with different traditions and outside family members settled on us. I wasn’t prepared for the chaos and heartache that accompanied our first Christmas together.
The Christensen boys play basketball – a lot of it. And they can be seen in the stands at each other’s games watching intently and keeping track of the score in the family’s official game book. Attending and watching their siblings’ games is part of who they are. It’s part of their family identity.
Time-ins versus time-outs. What's the difference? As it turns out, quite a bit. Many adults are familiar with the concept of time-outs, the process of separating the child (withholding attention, the highest motivator for any child) from their parents (often in another part of the house, if home) for the purpose of calming down, thinking about their behavior and regrouping. Overused, time-outs can quickly become ineffective and both the parent and the child can feel bad about the experience.
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