Is Your Child Getting Enough Vitamin N?
If you’ve read my book 31 Days to Becoming a Happy Mom, you’re familiar with one of my favorite family psychologists John Rosemond. In this Prager University video, watch John Rosemond as he explains why the lack of Vitamin N (No) may be the reason for your child’s troubling, unruly behavior.
James and I enjoy many benefits of administering Vitamin N on a regular basis. Here are some of the “no’s” that have been game changers in a good way for our family. Please know that these “no’s” are not meant to make you feel guilty nor are they meant to be the gold standard of parenting. They are simply “no’s” that have totally worked for us.
No video games. We don’t play any video games on our phones or computers. This makes life very simple. There are no games on my phone. We know many video games are benign, even helpful to learning, but we find them mostly distracting and a big time waster.
No cell phones for kids and tweens. My middle schooler Ethan doesn’t have a phone and my younger girls realize they will not have a phone either in middle school.
No weekly allowance. Regular chores like doing dishes and taking out the trash are part of being in a family. The kids can make money like commission when they initiate something extra like pulling weeds or reading books we want them to read! Since the kids have a limited piggy bank compared to their peers, they spend less and think about their purchases more.
No PG-13 movies. None of my children are 13 yet, so we do not expose them to PG-13 movies (even when the 6th grade class field trip was to a PG-13 movie!). We only watch PG movies together we know are good. One of our favorites is Miracle about the American ice hockey team who won Olympic gold in 1980 against great odds.
No soda. We don’t keep soda in the house nor buy it when we go out to meals. We do allow it at birthday parties and other occasions when it’s free!
No screens in the bedroom. We have two Chrome notebooks the kids can use for homework, but they are not allowed in the bedrooms.
What is a “no” that has blessed your household?
