A Contract with My Preschooler?
Want to increase your preschooler’s attention span, ability to plan, and self-confidence? Here is an idea borrowed from “Tools of the Mind”. Let me describe what the teacher does in a preschool where...
View ArticlePut Your Children to Work For Goodness’ Sake!!
Children thrive when they learn to manage their behaviors and emotions independently. They need to engage in at least two tasks to learn the skills of managing their behaviors and emotions. These two...
View ArticleAre You Hindering Your Children’s Growth?
Every parent strives to keep their children safe and healthy. I know I do. We want to provide opportunities for our children to make friends, try new things, and grow. But, many well-intentioned...
View ArticleGet Self-Expansion Without the Chubbiness
My daughter says the same thing every time we see an older couple walking hand in hand, talking and laughing, looking into one another’s eyes…looking like they’re on a first date. She looks at me and...
View ArticleLet Them Take A Risk
I hadn’t noticed until someone mentioned it. We were at a playground and there were no teeter-totters. My kids would not learn the thrill of teetering at the high end of the teeter-totter before...
View ArticleWho Needs a Prescription for Play?
I read an article that began by stating “A new paper in the journal Pediatrics summarizes the evidence for letting kids let loose.” I thought, “Interesting.” The authors of this article went on to...
View ArticleBucking the Weaker Trend
According to a study conducted in Chelmsford, Essex, 10-year-olds reported a decline in physical activity between 2008 and 2014. The study’s authors believed this was the result of increased time on...
View ArticleIt’s Not Easy Being Green… But It Is Definitely Happier
Remember Kermit the Frog’s song: It’s not easy being green…But green is the color of spring. …And green can be cool and friendly-like. ….And green can be big like an ocean or important like a mountain...
View ArticleDon’t Make Children Prisoners…Set Them Free
I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I repeated out loud what I had read. Nope…can’t believe my ears either. But it’s true. Prison inmates in an Indiana maximum security facility are guaranteed two hours of...
View ArticleParents, Are You a Buzz-Killer or a Responsive Encourager
As parents, we want our children to learn and grow. After all, who wants to spoon-feed a child for twenty years? No, we want them to learn and grow, to become independent and self-sufficient,...
View ArticleThe Anger is Real…Don’t Let It Ruin Your Family
Anger…. There is a lot to be angry about today. I don’t need to list it all for you. You know what arouses the anger of so many people today. Just watch the news and you will see angry people. Scroll...
View ArticleIt’s All Fun & Games Until… It’s Something More
Teaching our children to be helpful and generous is all fun and games…at least in part. That is what I learned from a study published in November 2014. Actually, it was a series of four studies. The...
View ArticleDad’s Superpower & Children’s Self-Control
Fathers have a superpower, a superpower that contributes to their children’s emotional future. What is this superpower? Play! Yes, play. Researchers at Cambridge University and the Lego Foundation...
View ArticleA New Year…A New Opportunity
It is a new year and a new opportunity to fill your family with honor, grace, and celebration. We honor what we value so honor your family. Fill your home with honor by sharing words and actions that...
View ArticleIs Free Play REALLY Better for Kids?
What happens when children get to play together without interference from adults? Amazing things happen…like problem solving, creativity, independence, and learning limits (Read Make Your Child “a...
View ArticleFor Your Marriage’s Sake, Get Serious About Play
If you want a long and happy marriage, you may want to get serious about play. A sober review of the research on playfulness offered a thoughtful reminder of play’s far-reaching effect, what did this...
View ArticleThe Case for Getting Together with Multiple Families
How do we regulate difficult emotions? How do we get through the hard times of life without having a “nervous breakdown”? I’m sure it will be surprised no one to know friends help us manage difficult...
View ArticleThe Fantastic Duo to Giving: An Experiment with Toys
Several young couples have told me about the vast number of toys in their home. They have so many toys that some even remain unopened. Their children have grown tired of other toys… now they lay in a...
View ArticleWho Cares WHEN We Eat Dinner?
You may have read previous blogs I’ve written about the value of family dinner (see The Lost Art of Family Meals, Everything I Need to Know I Learned at Dinner, Have Fun, Eat, & What? for a...
View Article6 Tips to Make Your Marriage a Taste of Heaven on Earth
Marriage can provide us with a taste of heaven on earth…or leave us living in hell on earth. Unfortunately, we don’t generally receive training in how to make our marriages a happy, fulfilling...
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