The feel good story of the recent Haitian earthquake has got to be the happy ending for the children of the orphanage who survived the destruction only to have their adoption papers destroyed. The situation first came to our consciousness when CNN interviewed concerned parents who were looking for any information they could find on [...]

Your six-year-old has just seen video of people buried under demolished buildings. Your teen sits transfixed watching images of the aerial view of the earthquake’s vast devastation. At the dinner table your 5th grader asks, “Can anything like that happen to us, dad?”
How is a parent to respond? How do you deal with your child’s [...]

If not, maybe you need to be.
Many of us have been told to “think it through,” “give it some thought,” “or wrap your mind around it.” This type of advice, delivered by well-intentioned parents, friends, or educators, isn’t always helpful. In fact, these suggestions often cut us off from other equally valuable sources of knowledge, [...]

Two beautiful Christmas celebrations formed the book ends of my Christmas Day, 2009. Both were with family; one mine, one a friend’s. Each gathering included traditional Christmas rituals of opening presents, engaging in interesting conversations, and eating delicious food.
It was the time between the two delightful get-togethers that intrigued me the most. As I drove [...]

What do the kids want for Christmas?
Where shall we celebrate Christmas?
How far shall we travel for Christmas?
Who shall we invite for Christmas?
How much money shall we spend this Christmas?
What food shall we cook for Christmas?
Many people are currently investing time and effort answering the questions above and scrambling to make sure those answers are implemented [...]

Children’s imaginations can conjure up an unlimited amount of desires. They can want pizza for supper, a new video game, an iPhone, designer jeans, a notebook computer, and an increase in their allowance. They may want to take dance lessons, play the guitar, be on a soccer team, own a horse, sleep in until noon, [...]

I often race around the internet looking for material to help parents improve their skills.  Yesterday, I came across BratBusters. BratBusters? No way. Unfortunately, my eyes did not deceive me. I had indeed found an advertisement for BratBusters, a web site that shared articles and advice for parents on how to raise children.
Most of you [...]

Your child just got sent home from school with the swine flu.
Your twelve-year-old hockey player was just suspended for two games for using inappropriate language with the referee.
Your teen-age daughter just informed you she is pregnant.
So what? Now what?
Does so what, now what seem a bit callous to you? Do you want to suggest you [...]

I recently overheard a mother instructing her young child to “use the magic word.” My ears perked up at the instruction. I listened closely as the mother continued her direction, “I won’t give you a piece of gum unless you say please.” The child immediately replied, “Pleeeeease, can I have a piece of gum?” The [...]

Musing #1: Did the “Balloon Boy” incident reveal how easily manipulated and gullible we are? No it didn’t. Maybe it pointed to our limited knowledge base about homemade flight balloons and the amount of weight they can carry. Maybe it showed that we don’t really understand the properties of mylar. Big deal. What our national [...]