The bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester is all the more horrible and deeply troubling because the target was an arena filled with adolescents and children of all ages.  Parents all over the world are left tongue tied when needing to answer what happened, why... Read more...

Whether you hate or love President Trump’s politics, most parents agree that his behaviors and style of communication are not very presidential. With all the different goals parents have for their kids, there is one thing most parents share:  wanting our children to behave respectfully, politely, and within... Read more...

Donald Trump’s latest lewd, (accidental?), hot-mike comments, his objectification of women, and his repeated out-of-control behaviors, his bullying have left us all scratching our heads mainly in disgust. How does anyone process this man?  And what is a parent to do when her kids are exposed to... Read more...

I have been working with families—teaching children, directing schools, and consulting with parents—for 45 years. Yikes!  Accompanying parents on their parenting pathways became my life’s work. As the years have crept by and I have worked with hundreds of families, a core set of beliefs has become... Read more...

School has begun (at last!)  Every parent wants to help her child get off to a good start. Every parent wants her child to have a great school experience. Every parent wants to be the best parent of a student that she can be with her child’s... Read more...

Just thinking about the start of school can be stressful for kids. New teachers, new classrooms, new friends, new expectations, new routines.  On top of that,  getting back into the school year swing of things, the school day routines, is not only stress producing but it can... Read more...

How I wish I weren’t writing this particular blog…again. How I wish you didn’t need this blog…again.  How I wish I actually had an explanation for this madness. I don’t. There is no explanation. So how in the world do we explain it to our children? Too many... Read more...

“I’m going to punish you” admonished the 4 year old “mommy” to her 4 year old “daughter,” both children at play in the “Housekeeping Center” of their preschool classroom. That is my favorite place to observe kids at work, reenacting scenes from their lives. “Playing” out their real... Read more...

Kids of all ages are getting a whiff of election politics at its worst. It’s unavoidable. I'll bet you think I am going to say, “Shelter them! Turn off the radio, TV, computer.” Not this time. This 2016 presidential election (which seems interminable) is an opportunity. It is... Read more...

In case you didn’t know, tattling should be illegal in your family. Many parents don’t realize that. When parents come to me for help with their kids’ fighting, I always ask is if their kids are tattletales. Just about 100% of the time the answer is YES! And... Read more...