“I’m a wreck!” was the reply from my client, mother of two elementary school age kids, when I asked her how things were going. Her children had started back to school the week before. And, truth be told, they were doing great. Both liked their teachers, classes,... Read more...

Summer time, and the livin’ is easy, as the song goes. And there it went! There can be a whole lot more to starting school than starting school. Whether a child is beginning preschool, third grade, middle or high school, after a long summer or just an... Read more...

“It’s not fair!”   Can’t you just hear the whiney tone that delivers that exclamation?   I’ve yet to meet a parent whose child hasn’t at some point or other protested “That’s not faaaiiiiiirrrr?”  (Note the drawn out faaaiiiirrrr,  added for extra impact on you, the parent.) As common and... Read more...

Cultivating empathy is a hot topic in the parenting world.  Current research has demonstrated that children under a year not only have the capacity for empathy but actually exhibit empathy. (Regarding infants:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201306/empathy-appears-in-infancy-varies-age-and-gender   Regarding toddlers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX6krHsZA_w .) But parents, usually not educated to recognize and encourage this trait... Read more...

As the big hand creeps its way toward midnight, most people give at least a fleeting thought to New Year resolutions.  Those usually have to do with eating or exercise or a nagging behavior ripe for modification. And we all know how long those last: Not very. ... Read more...

There is a dilemma that accompanies the winter holiday season that is rarely discussed out loud. It certainly is a topic that is dominating my parenting groups this month. That is, how do parents deal with grandparents who want to do as they please with their grandchildren... Read more...

In the video, Emotional Baby is Moved to Tears by Mom’s Singing, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/emotional-baby-moved-to-tears-by-moms-singing_n_4173272.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents, we witness the power of emotion in even the youngest of babies. At only 10 months old, the baby’s deep feelings spill over in the form of tears when he hears his mother’s beautiful... Read more...

 Now that the school year has begun, it won’t be long before one morning you’ll awaken to the declaration, “I don’t want to go to school.” It’s a cry, actually more of a plea, which every parent is likely to face at least once, if not ten... Read more...

It isn’t usually until the fall that I begin to hear chatter about parents wanting their kids to find their passion, who are eager to enroll their kids in specialized, extra curricular classes.  I have already weighed in on this topic, kids finding passion. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/betsy-brown-braun/finding-their-passion-rea_b_991621.html.   Eye roll. But... Read more...

Keeping your child safe, (also the name of a seminar I offer), is every parent’s top priority. And each time the internet explodes with news of another abuse to a child, parents are shaken to the core. Fear reverberates across the county, and we ask, “How did... Read more...