Difficult Relationships / Rod E. Smith

“My son’s father and I broke up before I found out that I was pregnant. There were minimal monetary contributions for 3 months after my son, now 13, was born. He wanted me to abort but I refused. My son has never asked me about his father and so I have never told him anything. [...]

Filed under: Abuse, Adolescence, Adoption, Communication, Dads, Difficult Relationships, Forgiveness, Grace, Parenting/Children, Past relationships | Tagged: abortion, parenting, secrets | 1 Comment »

“You write, to a woman asking for help with her son that if she gets her attitude right she might see a shift in her son’s attitude. Just because she has a ‘right attitude’ it doesn’t mean her son will. It seems to me you were a little heavy handed with someone asking for your [...]

Filed under: Children, Communication, Parenting/Children | Tagged: father, mother, parenting, respect, sons | No Comments »

My son (11) is quite ungrateful for all I do for him. I don’t want him to go around being unkind to women and he’s not getting any good lessons from his father who is a miserable woman-hater who I am glad I divorced. What can I do to make him appreciate all I do [...]

Filed under: Adolescence, Parenting/Children | Tagged: dad, mom, parenting, ungrateful | No Comments »

A few times a week our son (6) comes to our bed in the night or very early in the morning. Sometimes I am so tired I have no resistance and let him sleep with us. Other times I get up and take him to his bed. I am more concerned about this than my [...]

Filed under: Boundaries, Children, Family, Fathers, Growing up, Happiness, Parenting/Children, Space, healing, mother | Tagged: child, getting up in the night, nights, own bed, sleeping | 1 Comment »

Did you hear about the mother who complained her children were always in her hair? Now that her son and daughter are adults she can’t get them to return her phone calls. They are out of much more than her hair.
What about the dad who buried himself in his work just to find some [...]

Filed under: Authentic love, Blended families, Boundaries, Coaching, Communication, Differentiation, Difficult Relationships, Insight, Interpersonal intimacy, Parenting/Children | Tagged: career, father, loneliness, mother, parenting | 2 Comments »

1. Your courage, determination and your willingness to fully live, your ability and willingness to employ all of your skills and expedite your wildest ambitions, will go a long way toward compensating for the absence of the other parent.
2. Being debilitated by the absence of a partner, living as if a successful life is impossible [...]

Filed under: Blended families, Boundaries, Children, Community, Dads, Differentiation, Difficult Relationships, Love, Parenting/Children, Relationships, Single parenting, Stepfather, Stepmother, Teenagers, Voice | Tagged: children of divorce, Dads, Family, moms, separation, Single parenting, solo-parenting | 1 Comment »

“I have been struggling for months. When can one say that they are ready for marriage and how long must you date to take that step? I have been dating this guy for the past five years and we have a son together. I can officially say I’ve met the person I want to spend [...]

Filed under: Attraction, Authentic love, Communication, Community, Compatibility, Living together, Marriage, Parenting/Children | Tagged: best sex, Divorce, emotional cripple, growth, help, husband, life, Marriage, sex, wheelchair | 5 Comments »

“My daughter (26) constantly asks for money. She gets dead-end jobs and we have to pay her accounts (bills). We go without while she has everything. She has to have a car (to get to her job) and a cell phone (in case she gets the offer of a better job) and new clothes (to [...]

Filed under: Authentic love, Differentiation, Difficult Relationships, Parenting/Children, Reactivity | Tagged: adults, Children, debt, Family, help, Money | No Comments »

Are you emotionally out of shape? Psychologically exhausted? Tramped on? Feel trapped? Just as a person can be physically run down, so also can one become emotionally depleted. Here are simple, not easy, steps to getting your internal life into shape. Each will do your internal life as much good as frequent exercise does for [...]

Filed under: Alcoholism, Anger, Authentic love, Betrayal, Boundaries, Cheating, Children, Coaching, Communication, Community, Control issues, Dads, Differentiation, Difficult Relationships, Disrespect, Divorce, Domination, Double standards, Family, First date, Flirting, Forgiveness, Friendship, Growing up, Happiness, High maintenance relationships, Intimidation, Jealousy, Listening, Living together, Long distance relationships, Marriage, Marriage and in-laws, Meditation, Parenting/Children, Past relationships, Personal growth, Pornography, Re-marriage, Reactivity, Recovery, Relationships, Sexual abuse, Sexual compatibility, Toxic Relationships, Victims, Violence, Voice | Tagged: , drink, drunk, emotional, exhausted, help, Marriage, remarriage, tired | 7 Comments »

A reader writes…
“Many wives complain that their husbands expect them to be servants. The cause is, in my opinion, quite clear. Many mothers, including those in marriages not destroyed by divorce, run around their children (more so in the case of boys) to meet every request at the drop of a hat: picking up dirty [...]

Filed under: Adolescence, Children, Coaching, Family, Home, Relationships | 2 Comments »