How I killed my son’s love for piano (a cautionary tale about motivation)
Family Meetings: A Blueprint for Raising Cooperative, Kind, and Capable Kids
Family Meetings: a weekly touchpoint that will serve children for life.
3 Easy Ways to Encourage (i.e., foster COURAGE to keep trying, do something new, take on a challenge)
The best gift you can give your children this holiday season is . . . Encouragement. You can’t wrap it up, and they won’t be asking for it. But they need it more than anything, and it doesn’t cost a dime. “A child needs encouragement like a plant needs water.” – Rudolf Dreikurs Think of someone in your life who was … Read More
How parenting with a long-term view can transform behavior
While parenting with a long-term view (“long-term parenting”) can completely transform a situation and a relationship, I’ve struggled for years (literally) with how to write about it. I think it might sound a bit boring, and imply that one might not get immediate answers with its practice. Am I right? I imagine readers asking, How will long-term parenting help me … Read More
Back To School Conversation Guide
Every Fall, about a week or two before my kids start school again, we have a “back to school conversation.” When my children were younger (up to around 4th or 5th grade), parents set bedtimes and wake times and then together with our kids, we brainstormed morning and bedtime routines and created routine charts to stay on track. Learn more … Read More
How much screen time is too much?
Everyone seems to know intuitively that too much screen time is not healthy, but no one seems to be able to say how much is too much. Experts (including Dr. Rachel Kowert, PhD and author of A Parent’s Guide to Video Games) note that even the “no more than 2 hours/day” recommendation for young children from the American Academy of … Read More
My child stole his teacher’s brownie. How and what came next…
Chapter 1: Mom Gets Dreaded Phone Call From School I was at work in the middle of the day when my phone began to ring. I looked down and noted the caller’s ID: it was my child’s school. Naturally, my heart began to race, butterflies fluttered in my gut, and my eyes got a bit wider. Do schools know that … Read More
One way to get kids to take responsibility for their messes
Wouldn’t it be nice if children would take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves? It seems like such a basic thing; however, if you walk around my house on any given day, you might find: Dried up food bowls in the family room Cheap knick knacks from a birthday party goody bag Little bits of cut up paper, scissors and … Read More
