Author Archives: Mari Plank
Power Step Parenting: Help Your Child Move Between Two Homes

Divorced parents often forget or are not aware of how traumatic moving between two homes can be for a child. Remember, it is your child who has to transition between two homes. Now, there are estranged parents, different households, rules, Continue reading Power Step Parenting: Help Your Child Move Between Two Homes
Marriage with Mari: Take Off The Boxing Gloves!
Power Parenting: How to Offer Teens Choices

I am a huge fan of Love & Logic parenting techniques. It alleviates power struggles, raises responsible children, and gives them healthy self-esteem. Here is an article on How to Offer Teens Choices. (This is effective for all ages. I Continue reading Power Parenting: How to Offer Teens Choices
Power Step Parenting: Unwise Stepparents Punish Before Building a Relationship

Author and stepparent expert Ron L. Deal, states, By my estimation, this is the most common and one of the most destructive mistakes stepparents make. I’ve established that parental authority develops gradually over time and increases through bonding and the Continue reading Power Step Parenting: Unwise Stepparents Punish Before Building a Relationship
Marriage with Mari: Top Traits of Happily Married Couples

Rob and I used The 10 Best Decisions a Couple Can Make during our pre-marital counseling. Authors Bill and Pam Farrel asked couples to list the best traits of their long-term marriages. Here are a Continue reading Marriage with Mari: Top Traits of Happily Married Couples
Power Parenting: Teens and Friendship
Power Step Parenting: 6 Reminders for Stepmoms

6 Reminders for Stepmoms: Pray for yourself, your marriage, your biological kids, your stepchildren, and their mother. With God’s power and love involved, you can build a stepfamily that defies the statistical norms. Don’t assume you know what your stepkid’s mother Continue reading Power Step Parenting: 6 Reminders for Stepmoms