GEM Parenting: Parents building strong Children and Families

As you may have guessed, GEM Parenting is dealing with the topic divorce this week.  It is so important that families have that special time at Christmas.  For many parents and children, this is one of the few times they get to spend together interacting with close family, building memories that will last a lifetime, and growing traditions passed from one generation to the next. 

For children of divorce as well as divorced parents, this is often the most stressful and painful part of the year.  It does not have to be though…and GEM Parenting is here to help you make it through the Christmas season with strong happy children and families.

As our feature article this week, GEM Parenting welcomes back the insightful wisdom of Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen with her newest article “Christmas and Divorce For Kids:  Practical Ways to Enjoy a Divorced Family Christmas.”  In this incredible article, Laurie outlines the way you can address Christmas Traditions for Divorced Children as:

• Ask your kids what Christmas traditions they want to keep. They may be attached to old family rituals – or the traditions may be too painful for your kids.
• Consider creating new Christmas family traditions. Listen to your kids; they may know how to make a divorced family Christmas joyful and harmonious.
• Consider spending Christmas somewhere else. If you have always spent it at your parents’ place but think it may be too painful this year, consider going to a close friends’ for Christmas. Diverting attention away from the divorced family Christmas idea may ease children’s anxieties.
• Find inexpensive ways to enjoy the holidays. Money could be tight after a divorce. Enjoy simple pleasures, such as hot chocolate after a snowball fight or watching classic Christmas movies together. Don’t make up for your feelings of guilt or sadness with expensive gifts. Christmas and divorce for kids isn’t about buying lots of stuff.

Don’t miss the rest of Laurie’s article “Christmas and Divorce for Kids:  Practical Ways to Enjoy a Divorced Family Christmas” with practical ways to build new family traditions for children of divorce and a guide to buying Christmas gifts for divorced children!

BTW….click on our schedule tab at the top to see what topics are coming up in the weeks ahead!  Want to suggest a topic?  Leave us a comment! 

Check out our FREE Motivational Monday audio on how divorced parents can make Christmas perfect for their children! 

All this week, GEM Parenting will focus on the subject of divorce and Christmas!  Feel free to join us and add comments on your ways to make Christmas easier!

FREE 8 PODCAST SERIES: “7 Deadly Mistakes Parents Make That Create Spoiled Brats!”  In this FREE Audio Parenting Series, you’ll learn the tested methods and strategies that produce the behavior your heart desires from your children.