MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from I Love My Children, But I Don't Always Like Them Carma’s Story Every family has to figure out the expectation game and how each child may respond to surprises, frustration, disappointment and even too much excitement. As children grow up, and their behavior evolves, their capacity to handle change and respond to unwelcome triggers may also vary, depending on a number of factors. Every family must deal with this process. The Greens came to me because their daughter kept embarrassing them at family functions. Both parents had four siblings, and everyone lived nearby, so they came together to enjoy a meal at least once a week. Carma’s parents considered this a blessing, but their daughter wasn’t so appreciative. As she turned 12, she often tried to get out of family events by crying and begging to stay home alone. I facilitated a parent-child meeting with them (see Chapter 6). After some open-ended questions, Carma was able to verbalize that she felt nervous being with ...

  excerpt from   I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them  by Franki Bagdade  Preparing for Trips  Whether it’s a family dinner, a night out to the movies or a trip out of town, behavior can become a problem if expectations are not discussed beforehand. When our family goes on a trip, I take time before we leave to explain to our children that there will be waiting, like in airports, while we’re driving, or because of big-city traffic, and some of it will be excessive and annoying. I describe what the food will be like, how our days will be structured, sleeping arrangements, etc. Some of these explanations occur during a family meeting and some are communicated during one-on-one time. That way, I can customize how I manage some of the expectations according to the individual quirks of each kid, and believe me, they have quirks! For my little ones, who were too young to remember their previous flight experiences, we went through every detail—what...

  excerpt from   I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them  by Franki Bagdade  Expectations in the Bagdade Family  My kids need sleep! All kids do, of course, but mine take it to the next level. This was awesome when they were little because most evenings, after they were all tucked in, I could enjoy alone time with my husband. I might be going out on a limb here, but I think he’ll agree. (Or completely ignore my husband and watch the newest romantic comedy alone!)  Now, our oldest still needs more sleep than the younger two. She could probably win an Olympic sleeping competition. This proficiency made her the world’s best baby! It’s become a little trickier as she gets older and wants to stay out late and have a social life. It’s especially tricky when she wants to stay up extra late to watch Vampire Diaries because that usually means that the next day (and maybe the one after that, too) we all have to deal with her dedicated crankiness or mood...

  excerpt from I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them by Franki Bagdade Introduction              T he sound of your newborn baby crying for the first-time echoes in your brain forever. During the many months leading up to the birth, you dreamt of who that boy or girl would be, what they would look like and how it would feel when they became part of your family. Then suddenly, in a one moment frozen in time, that vision became real and alive, in the form of a helpless smush of a baby . “I got this.” I was confident, and maybe even a little bit obnoxious, as a second-time mom. My almost two-year-old was on a tight sleep schedule, slept through the night consistently and was a pleasure. I told anyone who would listen, quite smugly I might add, that my first child gladly played by herself, while I happily scrolled through this new phenomenon called Facebook , answered emails, talked on the phone and read books. In fact, I often felt guilty c...