Mike on Parenting

Mike on Parenting Welcome to my page! Follow along for help create peace in your house with strong-willed children. Welcome to Starfish Parenting!

You’ve taken the first step to becoming the best parent you can be and in turn giving your child the parenting he or she needs. What you will learn here has helped more than 200 families and now it can help you and your family! Starfish Parenting is lead by Mike Wallach, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 16 years of experience working with children. He’s ready to give you his secrets of

building a positive relationship with your kids. You’ll learn how simple and easy changes to your own interactions and reactions to your child will create a more pleasant household. The good news is that these small changes will produce big rewards.

08/25/2026

“Don’t put it down…Put it away”

It sounds simple, but it’s actually teaching a habit.

Instead of putting something down wherever they happen to be, help your kids learn to finish the task by putting it back where it belongs.

Do it consistently enough and eventually you won’t have to remind them… it becomes automatic. 🧠✨

Small phrase. Big habit.

Positive parenting, Parenting Hacks, RaisingIndependentKids, MomTips, DadTips

08/23/2026

80% might be the most important number in parenting.

Not because 80% is “good enough”

But because trying to make everything 100% all the time is exhausting. And honestly… unrealistic. 😬

Here are 3 places I want you to think about that 80%:

👉 Be on the same page with your spouse 80% of the time.
You don’t need to agree on every little parenting decision. But having shared expectations, boundaries, and goals creates consistency for your kids.

👉 Expect appropriate behavior about 80% of the time.
Your kids are still learning. They’re going to be tired, frustrated, impulsive, emotional, and occasionally make terrible decisions. (This describes me too!) 😛

That doesn’t mean you lower your standards.

It means you leave room for them to struggle.

And when they’re in that 20%?

That’s when they need you the most.

👉 Make 80% of your interactions positive.
Play. Connect. Laugh. Encourage. Notice the good. Give attention when they’re doing things right.

Because you don’t want the majority of your relationship with your child to be correcting, reminding, redirecting, and saying no. (They’ll push back so hard against this with their behavior)

Build the relationship during the 80% so you have the connection and influence you need during the 20%.

Parenting isn’t about getting to 100%.

It’s about making the 80% really, really good…and being there for your kids when they struggle with the other 20%.

Save this as a reminder the next time you feel like you’re falling short. ❤️

parenting kids, parenting hacks, parenting goals, parenting life, toddlers, kids behavior, child behavior, parenting journey, mom life, dad life

08/21/2026

Which side of parenting feels more like your life right now?

Exhausted or energized?
Frustrated or joyful?
Chaos or cooperation?
Constantly correcting or actually enjoying your kids?

And listen… I’m not saying parenting should be easy ALL THE TIME.

There will ALWAYS be hard days. Kids will push boundaries. Plans will fall apart. You’ll lose your patience sometimes.

The goal isn’t to eliminate all of the hard stuff.

The goal is to reduce the frequency, intensity, and duration of the behaviors and power struggles that make parenting feel so exhausting…

…and create more room for the parts you actually want more of:

❤️ Connection
❤️ Cooperation
❤️ Respect
❤️ Calm
❤️ Joy

That’s what I help parents do.

And if you’re watching this thinking, “I want more of that side of parenting, but I honestly don’t know how to get there…”

Comment CALL below.

I’ll personally reach out to you and show you where I’d start based on what’s happening in your family.

You don’t need to become a perfect parent.

You just need better tools for the hard moments.

08/18/2026

“If you don’t have anything nice to say… don’t say anything at all”

It’s something most of us heard growing up.

And while there’s nothing wrong with teaching kids not to be hurtful… I’d rather spend more time teaching them what TO do.

👉 “If you think something nice, SAY IT”

Because think about how often we actually have a kind thought about someone…

…and keep it to ourselves.

Maybe it’s PRIDE
Maybe it’s FEAR
Maybe it’s JEALOUSY
Maybe we just feel AWKWARD saying it out loud

But what if our families got really good at noticing the good things about other people and actually SAYING them?

“That was really kind of you”
“I like how you let me go first”
“You look really nice today”
“Thanks for helping me”
“I’m proud to be your sister”

The goal isn’t just to raise kids who avoid saying mean things.

It’s to raise kids who are LOOKING for opportunities to make other people feel good.

And that starts with us.

Try this phrase with your family this week:

“If you think something nice, say it.”

Then watch what happens when it becomes part of your family culture. ❤️

kindness, parenting hacks, parenting advice, kids behavior, parenting tools

08/17/2026

Such an easy and fun way to get your kids to clean up…

Without having to use the words “clean up”

Kids love the playfulness of it and the challenge!

Try it with your kids and share this with a parenting friend who could use a new tip!

get kids to clean up, cleaning up, kids behavior

08/17/2026

Sometimes your kid isn’t looking for an answer…

They’re looking for a REACTION. 👀

The dramatic sigh.
The exaggerated “FINE!”
The fake crying.
The “I’m never gonna win…”

And if we jump in with our own big reaction, we’ve officially joined the show.

Instead, try giving non-verbal feedback:

👍 Thumbs up
🤨 Eyebrow raise
🙂 Nod your head questionly (??)
👀 Look at them and then calmly move on

You’re communicating:

“I heard you. I’m just not going to turn this into a whole thing.”

This doesn’t mean ignoring your child or allowing disrespectful behavior.

It means learning to recognize when something actually needs your attention… and when your attention is exactly what’s fueling the behavior.

Let them have their Oscar moment. You don’t have to audition for the role of co-star. 😂

Save this for the next time the drama starts.

toddler tips, parenting advice, kids behavior, child behavior, parenting coach, mom life, dad life

08/15/2026

Want your kids to fricken listening? Practice when you’re NOT asking them to listen. 🤯

At a calm, fun time, give your child a few simple directions:

“Go touch something orange”

“Bring me something cold”

“Put this on the table and tell me your favorite restaurant”

And instead of arguing, negotiating, or asking “why?”…

They practice responding:

“OK, Mommy!” (My favorite: “ok mama/dada” 🥰)

Then they do it.

Keep it playful. Give them easy wins. Celebrate them.

And at the end, tell them:

“That’s what I’m looking for! I want to hear you say ‘OK, Mommy’ later today when I ask you to do something”

You can even turn it into a little challenge:

“I wonder if I can hear you say ‘OK, Mommy’ 5 times tomorrow!”

The goal isn’t to make your child blindly obey.

It’s to practice the skill of responding to a direction without immediately pushing back…outside of the moments when you actually need them to listen.

Because when the skill is practiced during calm moments, it’s much easier to access when you actually need it.

👉 Send this to a parent who you know would find it useful ☺️

toddler tips, kids listening, kids behavior, parenting strategies, parenting coach, raising kids, parenting help, kids not listening, child not listening, how to get kids to listen, teaching kids to listen, getting kids to follow directions, kids pushing back, toddler listening, parenting tips, parenting strategies, respectful kids, teaching cooperation, child behavior

08/14/2026

I almost kept this parenting course to myself…

But then one of my current parent clients started sending me texts like:

“This parenting course is so great!!”

“So many parents would benefit…”

“It’s easy for them to just turn it on while driving, folding laundry…etc and I love how they are shorter!”

That honestly meant a LOT to me.

Because this is exactly why I created it.

Parenting advice shouldn’t just be something you scroll past on Instagram and think “Oh, that’s a good idea”

You need to understand why your kids behave the way they do and have practical strategies you can actually use in your home.

She even told me:

“Woah the 2nd module is so eye opening about the kinds of behavior and why the kids do it!” 😃😃

If you want access.. comment “COURSE” and I’ll send you the link.

Here’s the link as well…

https://mikeonparenting.com/courses/

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