Oh No, They’re Back for the Summer

Did you enjoy Memorial Day Weekend a few weeks ago, or were you playing cruise director to the kids? Yep, school’s over and your kids are home for the summer. Here come the “I’m bored” or “What are we doing today?” questions. Do you dread setting up play dates,…


We’ve Trained Our Kids Not To Listen

When I’m working with parents of teens or toddlers I hear the same thing over and over again. “My Kids Just Don’t Listen!” I feel your pain. I’ve got two kids of my own. One of them only seems to hear the “Da-da-da – Da-da-da” of his ESPN Sports Center app. A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a…


Taming the Transitions

Transitions. It’s not only toddlers and young children who struggle with transitions. It’s adults as well. It can be very challenging when we rush home from work, only to find that we are stressed-out, still stuck at work in our mind, but our body is walking through the door, and we are being…


Brownies or Chocolate Chip Cookies? You Guys Decide.

If you have more than one kid, you probably have sibling issues. Parents ask me all the time, how do we help create a loving, lasting relationship between siblings. My answer: “Brownies or chocolate chip cookies. You guys decide.” What we want to do as parents is to create positive interactions…


Help Your Kids by Helping Less

I know you want to help your kids have a great school year. But are you helping too much? Do your best intentions get in the way of your kids learning to take responsibility? Take this quick quiz and find out! 1. When my son leaves his lunch at home I: A. Freak out, worry he’ll go hungry and…


It’s GO TIME!

The final school bell will ring. Kids will jump for joy. And you, well, you’ll be thinking about survival. I remember dreading summertime. I turned into full-time fun mom. Planning activities, lugging kids to the pool, making sandwiches and snacks and more snacks and then dinner. It was exhausting.…


Do You Give Your Spouse the Evil Eye?

I don’t know about you, but my husband and I entered into parenthood with different backgrounds and expectations. I’ve kicked him under the table or given him the evil eye plenty of times when I didn’t like how he was handling the kids. What happens when parenting styles are different? In an ideal…


GOT KIDS THAT LEAVE YOU SPEECHLESS?

Do you ever wonder what happened to your brain cells since you’ve had kids? Are you amazed at how often your kids leave you dumbstruck? I know all about it…I’ve got two kids at home. They argue about things that are completely absurd (like who is stuck with more broccoli on their plate) in an…


Thank You for the Terrific Tools!

In my first few years of parenting I read a book recommended to me by several friends, a pediatrician and one of my family members, all whom I deeply respect. The book promoted spanking (“spare the rod, spoil the child”) and taught that children should obey the first time, every time with out delay…