Giving New Meaning to Parenting

We have all either heard it said to us or said it to our parents at one time. I don’t recall saying “I don’t love you” to my mom, but I’m guessing at one point in time I did say this to my stepdad before finally realizing he is a great guy. When I was [...]

Parenting is a journey. It’s a non-stop olympic event. It’s a gauntlet we voluntarily run. And you and I want to make it work, to achieve success as often as possible, so our kids become the adults of our dreams. But in the process, at times, we make ourselves crazy, especially when our kids stray [...]

One of my greatest struggles as a parent is determining how tough to be when it comes to my expectations of the boys. I’m quite sure there’s not a One Size Fits All answer to this question; rather, Hubby and I have to figure out what works best for each child on an individual [...]

Kids have fears. We all have our thoughts on how to address them. The noted literacy activist, Pam Allyn, wrote a thoughtful essay on how bedtime stories can ease childhood fears. The essay also includes fantastic recommendations for bedtime books (and who doesn’t love a good book recommendation?) -
“When the sun goes down, fears come [...]

Not too long ago, my 17 year-old son realized that he had forgotten to keep up with his laundry, and with the day drawing to a close, started rushing to get it done (especially as he needed a clean soccer uniform). So there he was, slightly agitated/freaked, when I walked up to him and offered [...]

One of the toughest things for me as an adult has been to set boundaries.  Whether it’s preserving some sense of privacy  (Yes, I am finally allowed to take a bath without a parade of children coming through…) or setting boundaries and rules for the kids, or even with friends, deciding when something is a-okay [...]

It’s not my kids who are spoiled, but my husband and I. On Tuesday we took our daughters to Disneyland for their birthday. They enjoyed every minute of it and so did we. We had been to Disneyland before, but they were much more prepared for this visit. They knew which rides they wanted to [...]

Occasionally I make a stand. It’s not how I want things to be, and I’d much rather build consensus, but there are times when right is right.
For example…
I have two children. One of whom is phobic about spiders. The other, not. The phobic one would like some empty boxes, which we keep in the garage. [...]

When I was a child, my mother was a heavy smoker.  Every so often she tried to quit smoking, but she never lasted more than a few days, days that my brother and I still remember as tough on us all.  I don’t think she ever yelled at us as much, or as arbitrarily, as [...]

On Sunday Copy Cat bit Pack Rat really, really hard on the hand. Pack Rat was screaming and crying out in pain. Immediately, Copy Cat crawled behind the rocking chair in their playroom because she knew she was in trouble. Dad when in to discipline her, but she cowered even farther behind the chair where [...]