Raising boys and raising kids with special needs have been the most challenging parts of my parenting journey. Don’t get me wrong. I love parenting, and I love my boys. But I’m not male, and never will be, and quite frankly boys think differently than girls do. At least mine do.
And then add in the special needs that both my sons and oldest daughter have, and well, let’s just say I spend a great deal of time and energy trying to find the best way to help my kids succeed in who they are and in the world around them. And I love it, but it also helps to talk with others who have already been down the road.
Well, in this episode of the Living Life at Home podcast, I got to pick the brain of another mom who has been down this road of parenting boys and boys with special needs and emerged the other side – successfully! And she is generous enough to share her lessons learned with those of us who are still on the journey.
Kayla Fay is the mom of 4 boys, three of whom have ADHD Inattentive, and one with a learning disability and the mom behind the wonderful parenting site about raising kids with ADHD Inattentive, GoAskMom.com.
Listen in as Kayla and I discuss what it’s like to parent boys to adulthood, and how to help our children who have special needs succeed through their school years and into adulthood. Some of the topics we covered included:
How we can help our children focus, whether they have ADHD or not
Tips for working with teachers and other extracurricular activity leaders
The importance of routines and transitions, but also the importance of teaching our kids to be flexible, especially when they aren’t inclined to be
How to get to school activities, church, and sports activities with as few battles as possible
How the food our children eat affects their focus and self-control.
How time outdoors impacts our children’s ability to focus and succeed in school.
What battles are worth fighting and which are not.
Memorization tips for students who have difficulty with spelling, bible verses, and other facts
Might want to grab a pad of paper and pencil though, Kayla’s got some great tips and insights. Several of which I implemented right after our call – with results.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
P.S. For those of you with children who are traditionally schooled or who take outside classes, be sure to check out the Planner for Kids that Kayla developed and used with her boys and see if it might work for you too.
P.S.S. Prefer to read? Be sure to subscribe to our email list and I’ll be sure to let you know when the transcript for this episode is available.
In honor of Father’s Day I have another special dad to share with you on the Living Life at Home podcast.
Today our guest is a businessman, a parenting educator, and the creator of the BioSocial Cognition Model, Thomas C. Rector.
He and his wife Shelly are the parents of 5 children, ages 38 to 14, and have six grandchildren. After nearly 39 years of parenting, they have developed a unique view point on raising children, education, and what it means to be a parent.
Formally opposed to homeschooling, they came to realize its advantages (and disadvantages) and on two separate occasions have opted to homeschool their children. Both times, working while homeschooling.
What makes this podcast really special to me is that Tom also happens to be my dad.
So I invite you to meet Tom and listen in while we discuss:
How his perspective on parenting has changed over the last 38 years
Why he believes parenting is the most important responsibility we have
His take on intentional parenting and why creating memories is so important, and
Where homeschooling fits (or doesn’t fit) into the education of our children
Intentionally creating memories with the grandkids
As a parent, a former foster parent, an adoptive parent, a Court-Appointed Child Advocate, and an employer, Tom Rector has developed a new methodology for interpreting human behavior and developing human potential – the BioSocial Cognition Model. So he also shares with us, what that is, and what it means for us as parents.
We got into stories I have never heard before, and discussed topics that he and I had never discussed before. I invite you to listen in to meet the most influential parenting mentor of my life, and gain another point of view on this journey we call parenting.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
Intentional Parenting & the importance of creating memories with our children [1:05:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Enjoy!
…Shannon
P.S. To request more information about BioSocial Cognition, visit BioSocialCognition.com.
In honor of Father’s Day, we’re taking a twist on the Living Life at Home podcast and looking at homeschooling, parenting, and the role of a wife from a father’s point of view.
For the last couple months I’ve had the honor of working with Scott wrapping up some of the final details for his new book, and have come to really respect the message Scott brings as a dad and a person to empower others to live life with passion and purpose and to make family a priority.
I invite you to listen in on our conversation, as we discuss:
homeschooling and embracing our children’s gifts
raising special needs kids,
the lessons he has learned from his son Gabe, who has both down syndrome and autism,
the powerful role fathers have in a child’s life,
the importance of leaving a legacy, and
how we as wives can support our husbands through the challenges and life changes that arise.
To listen in, simply click the play button below. To download the recording to your computer, right click on download link below and choose ‘Save Target As’.
Yep, my baby girl is now 13! It’s an amazing thing to see this beautiful girl turn into a responsible young woman. I’m so proud of who she is and can’t wait to see who she develops into. And I’m honored that she chose to spend her entire birthday hanging out with me!
Thirteen is a big milestone, a bridge between being a girl and being a young woman. Another layer of responsbility and rights of passage are important, as is some just plain old fun! She put together this entire agenda of what she wanted to do, and that’s what we did.
We started our day at the bank, where she was going to break her $100 bill (from her grandma) into 20s, but we surprised with her a visit with a personal banker to open a teen bank account, and of course money to seed it with.
Then we headed over to Fuddruckers for lunch and got goofy with a yo-yo and some little fun bouncy thing.
and then off to getting her ears peirced and of course picking out several pairs of earrings to start her collection.
and then off to a local bookstore to rummage the stacks. Took us a while to get out of there.
Then shopping for ice cream, toppings, and cupcakes, and home again to share it all with the rest of the family.
It was a beautifully fun day, hanging out with my girl. I don’t know what the next five years will bring, but I couldn’t be luckier mom than to have this beautiful girl as my daughter.
Today, I wanted to share with you a lesson I’ve learned about getting out my kids’ way and allowing them to be creative and follow their imaginations. As you will see, my yard is a mess according to adult standards, but to my kids, it’s a bounty of creativity.
I cannot even begin to count the lessons they have learned while playing out there, and the lessons I have learned about what goes on in my kids’ minds, about their abilities & interests, and about who they are.
What do you think? Where’s that line between giving them the freedom to be creative and engage in imaginative play and keeping things neat and orderly?
…Shannon
P.S. Not even an hour after I shot this video, the other kids came out and built on what my duaghter created. Now there’s wooden bridge all the way across the pond, brick sides to the corral, and an obstacle course. Who knows what it will look like tomorrow
Kayla has also written several parenting books including Focus Pocus: 100 Ways to Help Your Child Pay Attention and Waking Up from the Homework Nightmare.
Raising Boys & Kids with ADHD Inattentive & Special Needs [1:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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