Re-Entry: Land the Helicopter!
Finally, our kids are emerging from a hibernation not of their choosing. Variations of in-person school are happening; sports teams are practicing; playdates with friends outside their pod have begun;...
View ArticleA Master Class: The Summer Olympics
The Goat, Simone Biles, took herself off of her USA Olympic team this morning, The news swept over me in a wave of disappointment. Like so many Americans, I was looking forward to watching Simone mine...
View ArticleThe Lessons of the Baseball Wildcard Playoffs
The camera slowly panned the faces of the St. Louis Cardinals, just moments after the Dodgers squashed their dream of being the baseball champions going to the Playoffs. Their faces reflected shock,...
View ArticleHow Do You Know When You’re in Love?
“How do you know when you are in love, I mean in love for real?” my daughter asked when she was about 13 years old. I have never forgotten the question nor my answer. With Valentine’s Day just around...
View ArticleYour Children and the War in Ukraine
When something “big” happens—a current or natural event– I always write a blog, sharing with parents how to talk to their children about it. My website is filled with blog responses from over the last...
View ArticleOh No! Another Shooting to Talk to Kids About
Can this really be happening? Again? Every parent I know is feeling the same thing. The anxiety we already feel about our children’s safety when they are away from us is just getting worse and worse....
View ArticleHelping to Smooth the Transition Back-to-School
It’s mid-August… that means summer vacation is creeping to an end, depending upon your child’s first day of school. For some it starts as soon as next week. Summer time and the livin’ was easy. Going,...
View ArticleWhat’s Wrong with “I’m Sorry?”
Years ago, I walked into the 4 year olds’ nursery school classroom and watched Mimi, a fabulous, feisty, third born child, collect all the playdough from the other three children at the table. The...
View ArticleTeaching Civility: What the Queen’s Funeral Taught Me About Raising Kids
I was transfixed by the coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s death and funeral proceedings. The pageantry, the ritual, the lock steps, the salutes, the uniforms…I was mesmerized. The English loved their...
View ArticleHelping to Smooth the Transition Back-to-School
It’s mid-August… that means summer vacation is creeping to an end, depending upon your child’s first day of school. For some it starts as soon as next week. Summer time and the livin’ was easy. Going,...
View ArticleWhat’s Wrong with “I’m Sorry?”
Years ago, I walked into the 4 year olds’ nursery school classroom and watched Mimi, a fabulous, feisty, third born child, collect all the playdough from the other three children at the table. The...
View ArticleTeaching Civility: What the Queen’s Funeral Taught Me About Raising Kids
I was transfixed by the coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s death and funeral proceedings. The pageantry, the ritual, the lock steps, the salutes, the uniforms…I was mesmerized. The English loved their...
View ArticleDo You Love Your Child Enough?
Seems like a ridiculous question, I know. But since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, it feels fitting. One of the lessons our children will learn as they mature is that are lots of different...
View ArticleTiming is Everything: Set yourself up for successful conversations with your...
Finding the right words to use with children is undeniably powerful. But coming up with the “right” response in the moment, creating just the script that is called for can be challenging. In fact,...
View ArticleBack to School for Toddlers to Teens
Going back to school or starting a new school…or just starting school the first time for our littlest ones…is a mixed bag for kids and for their parents. The process and the thoughts about it are...
View ArticleTalking to Your Children About the War in Israel
I absolutely hate that I have to write this blog. There is a war in Israel, and this is the reality of the world in which we must raise our children. But my job is to help and support parents and...
View ArticleWhat DO I Say about the War in Israel
“My child just asked me,” a mother wrote, “ ‘Why do people hate the Jews?’ ” Another parent wrote, “I can explain the cause of the war; I can retell history. I cannot explain these atrocities against...
View ArticlePost Covid Parenting Reboot
All of us who lived through the Covid shut downs will not forget that period in our lives. At first we were kind of grateful for the forced time at home with our families. It was close and cozy and...
View ArticleKids Don’t Understand Money. Part 1
True story: The dad took his 7-year-old son to a funky donut shop he had heard about, a shop which took cash only. No credit cards, no Apple Pay. “But Dad, how can we pay for this?” the worried boy...
View ArticlePart II of Kids Don’t Understand Money: TEACHING ABOUT MONEY
In Part I of Kids Don’t Understand Money I shared a story of a parent whose child had not previously seen or paid attention to paying with cash. (Really!) I addressed the reality that children today...
View Article