In this frenzied toy-buying season, let me offer our recommendations for kids up to elementary-ages. We have seven kids, ages thirteen and under, so I’ve got a little more than a decade, and many different personalities’ worth of “experience,” invested in this advice. These are the non-electronic toys kids actually LIKE. (In fact, if you add up my kids’ ages […]

This question came in response to my advice about handling tantrums— Q: I have a 3 year old daughter, who I think should just be re-named “stubborn”. I know I am going to have to put my foot down and insist, always, that what I say is followed through with. When my daughter is raging, and […]

The question comes from time to time: How can I have a successful blog while raising little ones? And here’s my honest answer. It may not be a popular one, but it is my real, honest, from-my-heart answer. BLOGGING WHEN YOU HAVE LITTLE ONES When I had all/only littles, I wrote only when I had…

Well, we’re all but there. The end of the year. Again. How does this keep happening? I’ve published over 150 articles on jessconnell.com in 2015. According to the stats, these are the top 10 most-read posts on jessconnell.com from this past year: #1- JOSH DUGGAR & THE PROBLEM WE ALL HAVE Though the news did not surprise me,…

Sometimes we can feel like all we have to pass to our kids is what our parents passed to us. “Mom yelled. So I have a problem with yelling.” “Dad never taught us the Bible, so I don’t have a model for parents doing that.” “My parents never really snuggled or showed affection; it feels… […]

How can we avoid letting feelings rule our lives? 3 minutes of encouragement on that, after having a feelings-heavy day, yesterday:   https://youtu.be/It4vOJ-t5XA As always, let me know what YOU have to say, in the comments. 🙂

Q: I know my son needs to be trained out of some of the bad behaviors he’s picked up over the last 6 months of having a really loose schedule, but I feel so angry at him. I am so worn out and he talks back so much, and all I want to do is […]

Fanny Price is one of my favorite characters in Jane Austen’s literature. She discerns the truth about people, and sees them for what they truly are at their core. Their dressing up, fakery, and flattering does not alter her observations about their character and priorities. This quality makes her a tricky person to have around. In […]

Naptime. Quiet time. Siesta. 🙂 Call it what you want. But do not underestimate its importance for happy family life, particularly with kids about four and under. In actuality, this principle of setting aside certain hours of the day for the purpose of rest can serve any family of any age and any size. CHILDREN […]

So you’ve decided to homeschool. Or, not allow sleepovers. You don’t watch certain kinds of movies, Or, you don’t own a TV at all. Or maybe, even though they’re Christians, you’re convicted in ways that are obviously different from the convictions they have, or had. You can feel judged. They can feel judged. They can… […]

At some point this last year (I didn’t date it when I wrote this down), I took time to try and write down, in precise language, some of the things I believe about myself. Things I didn’t want to admit, but that I could tell were impacting my choices and thinking. Tears streamed as I scribbled… […]

“Many of the difficulties we experience as Christians can be traced to a lack of Bible study and reading. We should not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy our conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart! A little portion well digested is of greater value to the soul than…

I’ve heard it said that artists are inherently egotistical… that at the foundation of all art is the artist’s belief that what he’s putting forward is worth the time and attention of others. But I think it is at least as often the case that the writer/artist/songwriter has to overcome great personal doubt and self-accusation. […]

Well, if you know anything about our family, you know we have a lot of kids (6, going on 7, to be exact). Spills have become part-and-parcel of Connell family mealtimes. And now, 12 years into this parenting gig, I’m nearly… getting better about… almost… past freaking out about spills at the table. One thing…