Being there for your kids

Children will test the limits!

It's not a maybe. It's not just bad kids. It's an imperative. All children will test the limits every chance they get. Why? to be sure the limit is in place. When children are in charge, that is, when there are no limits on their behavior, the result is excessive fear and anxiety. Do you want your child calm and collected? Give them limits on their behavior.

Active Listening -- A Parent's Go-To Tool

When we take a foreign language in school, we can spend years studying it and still not be fluent. That's because we are not immersed in the language and we have to think before we speak. Active listening, for parents, is kind of a foreign language. It's a way to help kids come to terms with their feelings and then joining with them to help them solve their own problems. While solving our kids' problems for them can be a short-term fix, it deprives our children of the process by which they are best able to solve their own problems.  When you are hard-wired to problem-solve with your children, take a breath and first active listen their feelings.

Tools for Beating Depression

When depression is organic or genetic, treatment may require medication. When depression is situational or reactive, you can beat it with these two simple tools.

Mindful Parenting

How often do you get to savor the moment? Most folks talk about how angelic their child looks when he is sleeping. Wouldn’t you also like to savor the moment when he is awake. Mindful parenting puts you in a place to do just that.

Teenage angst — Dealing with Hormones

Every teen (and actually, all of us) deals with the impact of hormones. The mood changes, attitude, and body changes all take their toll. Instead of thinking of hormones as a bad thing, let’s call them power surges, and consider them as preparation for greater things in life. Helping your teen navigate through these power surges will ease stress and create teachable moments for them.

How does your teen become an adult?

As parents, our ultimate goal is to launch our teens as independent, responsible, socially-conscious persons into adulthood. This podcast gives you a glimpse into the trials, tribulations, joys, blessings of a launch well done.

What’s Your Child’s Sign?

We all are born with a sign around our necks. What it becomes over time is a function of how we are treated by those who love us. What’s the sign around your child’s neck?

Hormones - We All Have Them!

As a positive reframe, let’s call hormones an “energy surge.”  We can’t avoind them, so, what to do with them?

Getting Your Child Out of Jail

Parenting with The Good Kid Chart

When helping with character development, The Good Kid Chart gets your child excited about making substantive behavioral changes.