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3 Words Our Kids Need Us To Believe
We were at dinner a few months back with our dear friends, Adam and Stephanie. They have a son, Aiden, only three months older than our son, Landon. These boys have been best buddies since the day...
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15 Unique Ways for Dad to Influence His Kids
Need a gift idea for Father’s Day? Last year I wrote about the greatest Father’s Day gift idea ever. If you have time, I encourage you to read about how to experience the “joyful moments” that connect...
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The Straub Family's New Adventure
A few months ago, I was offered my dream job from an organization I deeply admire. I almost accepted it. That’s where our new adventure begins. Being offered what I considered the position of a...
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Why Smart Parents Have Bored Children
With summer in full swing how many of you have heard those most dreaded words of any child, “Mom, I’m bored”? Keep your figurative hand up. Now let me ask, how do you typically respond to your kids in...
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How To Get Your Kids and Teenagers To Talk To You
I’m a “doer” parent. Since we moved to Nashville a few weeks ago, there are approximately 2.584 million things to do throughout the house. With two kids three and under however, that number raises by...
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The One Behavior Every Parent Must Stop Doing
My dad bought Landon a tee ball set for his second birthday. I admit everything in me wanted him to immediately pick up the bat and ball and start swinging for the fences. But he didn’t. Instead he...
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Super Exciting News!
Our lives have changed a lot in the past few months. Some even wondered about our new family adventure that took us from Branson to Nashville in June. Just to clarify for those who were mistaken,...
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The One Factor For Raising Kids Who Perform Well Under Pressure
Have you ever had to perform under pressure? Maybe you were at the plate with a 3-2 count in the bottom of the last inning with a runner on third, down by a run. Perhaps you had a job interview. An...
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An Open Letter to Dads: What Your Wife Really Needs
Our parenting journey has been anything but easy. I have to admit, I was completely caught off guard by the myriad of challenges we have faced in only three years of being parents. For example, my...
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An Open Letter to Moms: What Your Husband Really Needs
When Christi and I got married, one of my wedding vows to her was that I would fight for her, and not with her. She played off our love for sports, vowing, “You are my teammate.” We did pretty well...
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Safe House Sneak Peek: Chapter One
I'm super excited to offer you a sneak peek into Safe House. I know this is longer than a normal blog post, but I'm confident the few extra minutes you take this week will be worth it! But don't take...
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4 Ways to Champion Safe House Together
Friends!Thank you for your friendship, prayers and support as the word about Safe House gains traction. I got my first copies at the door last week. What a great feeling to have it in hand! The...
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How to Create a Safe House with Your Children: Interview with Meg Meeker,...
Both Meg Meeker, M.D. and Dr. James Dobson have been incredibly gracious to me. I’m grateful for how they’re championing the Safe House message and importance of being emotionally safe with our kids....
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It's Release Day!
I can’t believe it’s release day! I want to first say thank you for your support, prayers, and encouragement. I’m grateful for each of you. Secondly, I would love your word-of-mouth marketing...
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The Secret Longing of a Mom
The celebration was about to begin. “One more paper to grade and this trip becomes gravy,” I said aloud, my voice echoing against the empty walls of my hotel room. It was 11:25AM late Friday morning....
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A Behind-the-Scenes Personal Interview with Brain, Child Magazine
From Brain, Child Magazine: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers, often referred to as "The New Yorker for Mothers."We posed some questions for Joshua about his new book Safe House: How Emotional Safety...
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Why Raising Thankful Children Matters
Our three-year-old son, Landon, came home from preschool the other day with brown construction paper cut into the shape of feathers and a note for Christi and me. We were to talk with Landon about...
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Would You Wish Your Marriage On Your Children?
My wife Christi and I have an embarrassing confession to make. Before we do, allow me to give you a brief background. Both of our feisty babies were “high needs”—colicky, acid reflux, strong-willed,...
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5 Fun Ways to Build Your Child's Brain - The Washington Post
This article is an exclusive to The Washington Post: As parents, we face emotionally intense moments with our kids. When your 6-month-old wakes every two hours through the night. When your 5-year-old...
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When Your "Safe House" Becomes Unsafe
Last Tuesday, I was privileged to be at the LifeLock headquarters in Tempe, AZ to consult with the National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA). LifeLock, along with representatives from the...
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The Best Text Message I Received in 2015
Happy New Year!Like many of you, I spent much of the past few weeks resting and reflecting—both of which I needed more than I realized, and both of which I resolve to do more of in 2016. As a driven,...
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The Problem with Being Your Child’s Best Friend
We have had some seriously funny—and humbling—moments lately with our 3-year-old son. Not long ago I was giving him a bath when he leaned over the tub, put his little pointer finger in my face, and in...
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3 Ways To Be An Emotionally Safe Parent in 2016
I have a sign hanging in my office that serves as a constant reminder of the unparalleled influence I have as a dad. It reads: Home is where our story begins. Our homes reflect our story. For some,...
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7 Ways To Protect Your Child From Sexual Abuse
A few months ago, I spoke at an event on the principles of emotional safety, where a representative from the National Organization of Victim’s Assistance (NOVA) happened to be in attendance. Since...
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9 of the Creepiest Things We Do With Our Phone
I want to begin with a fun and insightful little quiz. How old is the iPad? a. 15 years oldb. 10 years oldc. 5 years oldd. 2 years oldBefore you read further, how confident are you with your...
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The Powerful Influence of Secondhand Screen Time on a Child's Brain: What...
You just finished browsing Pinterest after getting the recipe you needed. You put your phone down to set out the ingredients. Your daughter is sitting in her highchair wanting some more applesauce. A...
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Why You Should Play Video Games With Your Kids
In a few weeks, I have the privilege of speaking at an event where parents and children attend together. Quite frankly, I don’t really speak—I facilitate. I love these events because both parents and...
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Parenting in 87 Words
Parenting some days—okay, many days—can feel like a war. And often, caught in our four walls, it's easy to feel like we're losing the battle. But then, just when you feel like surrendering, you catch...
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4 Ways to Help your Child Play Independently
As a parent of young children, I often find myself wishing I had just five minutes to unload the dishwasher, pay the bills, or even catch up on the slightest bit of news going on outside my four...
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iContact versus Eye Contact: The Advantage of a Screen-Balanced Home
I recently had a dad call me in despair. He told me he caught his middle-school-aged son viewing pornography. Just as he started to set limits, his son began physically attacking him, distraught that...
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Feeling Defeated? The One Parenting Strategy That Will Set You Free
One my closest friends, who is both gifted at and loves starting businesses, regularly discusses micro- and macroeconomics with his sixteen-year-old son. Yes, his son is wicked smart. As the safe and...
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Raising Kids Who Live, Love and Lead Well
Great news! I'm excited to announce that the Safe House Parent and Small Group Study is now available! We teamed with an incredible production company to turn Safe House into a high quality...
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Why Your Marriage Needs Nerf Guns
I had the privilege of leading a Safe House Marriage Retreat in New York last week. Seven couples—all very competent, high functioning leaders. We dined, shared life, cried and laughed together. We...
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15 Conversation Starters for Tucking Your Kids into Bed
An emotionally safe parent is a parent who pursues her child’s heart. If we don’t talk to our kids as toddlers, we can’t expect them to talk to us as teenagers. The reality hit me this past weekend...
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Why Families Should Live on Purpose, Not by Accident
Whether awesome—or crazy—we were unsure. Last weekend, Christi and I had the privilege of speaking together at a family conference in North Carolina. That part was awesome. Where we felt unsure was...
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What's the Real Cost of Our Digital Babysitters? Developing a Summer Screen...
Have you ever tried to take an iPhone or iPad away from a toddler or young child? How did that work out for ya? I had a huge parenting win this morning. Rarely do I allow our nearly four-year-old son,...
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Kids, Screens, and Summer: The 3 Decisions Parents Must Make
I remember the summers of my early teen years like yesterday—playing wiffle ball games with my cousin and neighborhood friends, even keeping our statistics on a legal notepad. So we were a bit...
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How To Talk To Your Kids About Screens—Where Everybody Wins
I received a call from a dad whose middle school daughter got really upset at him for not allowing her to go to a football game one Friday night. In the exchange, she lashed out, “I hate you.” How...
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“Give Me Just One Minute” and Other Lies We Tell Our Children
One of the most fundamental values parents teach their kids beginning in those chaotic, “Why-won’t-you-listen-to-me?” toddler years is “Don’t lie.” Yet, I can’t keep my end of the bargain. Sometimes,...
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The Best Father’s Day Gift Idea Ever!
My dad’s battle with congestive heart failure the past 23 years opened my eyes to a gift. Don’t misunderstand me. I wouldn’t wish what my dad has been through on anybody. Receiving three different...
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What My iPhone Stole From Me
by Christi StraubThe first thing I reach for the in morning. The last thing I say goodnight to before bed. Always within arms reach. If not, I search until I find it. How could I live without it?...
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3 Ways To Make Prayer Matter With Your Kids
When we sit down as a family for dinner, we begin in prayer. Usually, our kids are the first to remind us. Landon, our nearly 4-year-old, used to put out his hands and repeat, “A-men, A-men, A-men.”...
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3 Ways To Help Our Kids Process Racial Injustice
This article first appeared at thomrainer.com on July 9, 2016.The shooting deaths—and subsequent reactions—of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are a reflection of how deeply broken our nation...
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10 Fun, Cheap Date Ideas for You and Your Spouse This Summer
Christi and I maintain a date night once a week. With little kids, it’s necessary for us to stay connected with one another beyond “business talk” or “kid talk.” However, like most couples, spending...
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3 Differences Between “Good Parenting” and “Helicopter Parenting”
As a father of two, I can readily identify with Marlin’s heartfelt promise to Nemo in Finding Nemo: “Don’t worry, I’ve got you now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”For many of us, the first...
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5 Ways to Change Your Spouse
Christi and I regularly receive calls from spouses searching for answers to the disconnect in their marriage. When a person first begins telling us their story, we usually hear an explanation of what...
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3 Reasons Our Kids Need Us to Stop Worrying and Start Laughing
Just the other night at bedtime our nearly four-year-old son told me his favorite part of the day was when his mom threw a dirty diaper and hit me in the face. He said, "Dad, it really made me...
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Has Bullying Gotten Worse? What Parents Need to Know
One of my earliest memories of being bullied happened at a sleepover with my friend Dan. We were outside playing in a sandbox. Living in a small town, we had friends who lived within walking distance....
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How My Toddler Taught Me the "Good" In Saying "Goodbye"
I remember a moment when our son, Landon, was about 20-months-old. As I sat on the chair in our bedroom, reading, I looked over to see him enter the room. He got no more than three feet into the room...
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2 Reasons I Love Seeing Temper Tantrums in Public
Living in Branson, MO had its perks. One of those was having a season pass to Silver Dollar City, an amusement park with great food and activities for the entire family.I remember one time Christi and...
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