Conscious Care Giving – And Receiving

January 14, 2011

QUESTION: What’s the number one secret to guiding your children through the challenges of growing up today? 
How do you get your kids to cooperate respectfully, complete their chores and homework, listen and talk to you, socialize safely with a good group of peers, be happy and healthy, all while preserving some semblance of family fun [...]

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A Gift Worth Giving

December 29, 2010

Ahh, the holiday season.  A time for giving and for new year’s resolutions.  What can I resolve to give my children this year?  And how can I really make that change?  Really stick to it?  Here are 7 strategies that will ensure a gift worth giving throughout the year.
1. Pick one thing. It’s easy to [...]

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The Family That _________ Together, Stays Together

December 16, 2010

a) PLAYS.  Laughter is the best medicine.  We love learning new card games and enjoying old favorite board games at the kitchen table several times a week.  It’s fun to create indoor forts once in a while – with blankets and pillows and sheets strung about the family room furniture with secret back doors for quick [...]

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Teenagers, Rights, and Responsibilities

December 3, 2010

“Being 14 is a funny place to be,” I say to the teens I work with.  “When you were 4, your parents made almost all your decisions for you – what to wear, when to eat, who and what you could play with.  When you’re 24, you’ll be making almost all your decisions – where [...]

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Fostering an Attitude of Gratitude

November 24, 2010

It’s Thanksgiving – the time of year when we pause to give thanks for the bounty of the harvest and the blessings of family and friends.  Yet Thanksgiving is a holiday that can serve us, and our children, best when we celebrate it throughout the year.
Developing an “attitude of gratitude” isn’t about some compulsory mandate [...]

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Mindfully Managing Your Kids and Your Life

November 11, 2010

How’s that conscious parenting going?  You know, the parenting that comes from the heart, and is guided by a mind that is focused on what’s most important in this moment. 
The world is swirling around you.  Demands for your time and energy are flying in from all over the place.  You’re struggling to keep juggling.  And [...]

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Homework Battles – How to Win the War

November 4, 2010

Tired of reminding, arguing, cajoling, correcting, reminding, arguing…
If you have a school-age child, the odds are you’ve spent many nights repeating this cycle with your tween or teen. 
Sadly, it is nearly universal that kids today do not like doing homework.  And a good portion of that lies in how teachers view, assign, and use homework [...]

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When Kids Fears Aren’t Fun

October 30, 2010

“Racing thoughts, intrusive thoughts, yucky thoughts galore,
Go away, leave me be, yucky thoughts no more!” 
Sometimes children are haunted by worrisome thoughts that intrude into their daily lives without warning.  These thoughts may be worries about realistic concerns such as family fighting, impending divorce, an upcoming move, or academic failures.  Sometimes these thoughts grow, like a [...]

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Bedtime Problems – 7 Simple Solutions for Sound Sleeping

October 21, 2010

When each day feels like a mad race to the finish line, getting your child to sleep can sometimes feel like the ultimate challenge.  You’re both exhausted.  You just want the little bugger to quickly and quietly drift off to dreamland, so you can get a few minutes of peace to yourself – or at [...]

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No Laughing Matter

October 13, 2010

“Four dead in O-hio…”
Song lyrics from my teen years – memorializing an American tragedy at the time when national guardsmen shot and killed college students protesting the Vietnam war.
The same words headline an article in my local newspaper this week.  Only now they are memorializing a different kind of American tragedy – teenagers who have [...]

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