When your kids were young, you fed them, pulled them out of stuck spots and kept them from running into the street. You changed their pants, talked to their teachers and gave them curfews that they tended to ignore. In the beginning of children’s lives, parenting is a verb. It involves lots of sometimes exhausting […]
Your child’s words of anger may upset you, but it’s important to realize that they’re pipsqueaks. You’re the big dog, even though you may not feel like it and you may not know what to do to get them to behave or to eat sensibly.As crazy as it sounds to frustrated, well-meaning parents, children are very […]
Sometime around the high school years, kids realize that they are growing up–and it usually scares the crap out of them. Some kids sail through this phase, seeming impervious to the great responsibilities that come with adulthood, but most hit the wall with a real bang. Growing up scares the heck out of them.If you’ve […]
The only way your kids can trust you is if you follow-through on what you tell them. This goes directly to them feeling safe with you. After all, they’re young and small and they depend on you. They need to feel sure that you will take care of them and that means that you’ll do what you say.In the old […]
Tomorrow, a child of mine is graduating medical school. All through her academic process–valedictorian of her small high school, cum laude graduate in biology from college, a masters in medical science and then medical school–people have been commenting on how proud of her I must be.I have a problem with that word–proud–and I realize this […]
Sometimes parenting sucks, but sometimes it’s the most glorious part of being human. In holiday gift-giving expenditures, Mother’s Day ranks fourth behind Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. Father’s Day falls a sad sixth in spending, coming after Easter. This may be only a rough indication of the involvement of mothers versus fathers, but we tend to put our money […]
Being a teen is tough.Yes, parenting teens is really tough, but if your kid is a teen–particularly a late teen–think about what they’re facing. Most kids are sheltered and some are pampered. If the child is lucky and life is working out as it should, she’s been looked after and encouraged to prosper.When children come into this world as tadpoles […]
What do you do when it doesn’t seem like the person you’re talking to is listening?Every one of us has had a situation in which we didn’t feel heard. People often talk of communication problems, but what we normally do when we don’t feel understood or when we’re angry is to raise our voices. We […]
“I spent 3 years in a verbally abuse, mentally exhausting, chaotic relationship. The thing was, I loved her. She broke up with me in October of last year, but has been living in my house until today (March 1st). I am having trouble getting over her. She was an awful partner, didn’t appreciate me, never did […]
“My daughter is 11 and lies about everything. Can you give me some tips to try to help her? We are at our wits end. I have tried to reward her for good behavior and it will start to get better, but then it will relapse again. Her dad is only in the picture when […]