Black Friday… that mad, post Thanksgiving rush to buy items that you had no idea you even needed 30 days ago. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Buy, buy, buy. I saw it all over town and TV today, right down to the viral video of two “jolly shoppers” fighting over a bargain in a suburban Minnesota mall. […]
Why Parents Need To Let Their Child Fail
Ahhh… it is so tough to let your child fail! From the moment newborns are placed in our arms, we love them unconditionally, we support them as they learn to sit, crawl, and walk. We guide them as they makes friends, we teach them how to read and write, and we give them comfort after […]
Tips For Teaching Children Gratitude
Gratitude is an attitude in the Youngblood house. It was one of the first things that I was taught as a boy and it is the basis of all my professional work as a speaker and communication coach. So, it should be no surprise that my son gets a healthy dose of the “art of […]
10 Things To Remember When Raising Boys
People always say to me “Oh, you are so great with your boy – don’t you ever get mad or frustrated!?” A big fat “HA” is usually my gut reaction. Of course I get mad and frustrated… and overwhelmed and clueless and lost and any number of other adjectives. However, I have learned that when raising a […]
Top 10 Signs Of Your Kid Growing Up Too Fast
What? What do you mean we are already back to school? It’s early August. It’s still pool season. Summer is still here. It is still 90 degrees outside. There are still more trips to take and burgers to grill and late nights to be had! Okay, maybe I can live with the fact that it is back […]
Long Distance Parenting Communication Tips
My ex-wife (and the mother of my son) lives in a different state than my son and I, but we still have a strong and healthy relationship – and we co-parent very well. One of the main reasons we do so is because we collaborate and communicate well. We both know that great communication skills […]
Parenting In The 70s- We Survived Without These 5 Things?
Amazingly, I made it through childhood. It was the 1970s and 80s and “perfect parenting” inspired by countless news stories, web advice, magazines, and Pinterest didn’t exist. There were no courses for my parents to take, no blogs to read for advice, no social media to bounce ideas off of friends (or to make them […]