The Blog
Our best advice when it’s tough with kids:breathe, laugh, dance, sing, hug, call a friend. Be gentle with yourself, you’re not done growing up yet. This won’t last and you are not alone.
Resolve Sibling Rivalry: With Reflective Listening
Recently a parent told us… My son is always belittling my daughter, shouting at her and dismissing everything she says. Whenever I try to give him advice on how he should behave or protect her, it escalates things, and he always complains that it's because “she has...
How to talk to kids about death and loss
When we taught preschool, we had school pets. One of the reasons pets are useful in a classroom–besides just being loveable and cute–is they gave us a natural opportunity to talk about death and grief when the pets passed away. When a school rat or hamster died, we...
Alloparenting: Cultivating Strong Connections and Support Systems for Children
As a parent sometimes just getting your kids out the door, can feel like a marathon! If you’re lucky enough to have a partner to help, it’s not a guarantee that things will be easier. And you probably juggle multiple roles and handle high levels of stress. If you’re...
When Your Child’s Friends Are a Bad Influence
A mom wrote to me and shared… “My 7-year-old daughter is easily influenced by her peers. If her friends are doing well that's great. She follows directions and cooperates, but if her friends do something bad, she follows them and gets into trouble. Generally speaking,...
How To Talk To Kids About Social Media And Mental Health
I heard a mom say, “When I go into my 9-year-old daughter’s room in the afternoon and I see her in bed under the covers on her tablet, I feel worried and I don’t want her to miss out on playing with her friends.” We’ve read the news headlines. We know that screens...
3 Steps For Fighting Siblings
Three Steps to Resolve Sibling Conflict: How to Help Your Kids Get Along With One Another If you have two kids or more, you’re probably already thinking about how to help them build a strong relationship. Part of building a strong relationship, especially for...
Bring Balance to Parenting: Connect with Your Kids and Reclaim the Joy Again
When people ask me, “How do you do it all?” I feel proud and a little smug, but I probably shouldn’t… Let’s be clear. All the rushing, being on our screens, and productivity have a dark side especially if you are a parent… Rushing all the time means that we are...
Parents: How to Calm Down (In the Moment)
One time when our kids were younger they got into a fight about something, I was so maxed out that I locked myself in the bathroom to take a few breaths. I had to escape because I didn’t have a reliable plan for how to soothe myself in high-stress moments. When you’re...
How to be happy, regardless of your child’s behavior
Real quick. I’ve been realizing that it’s a trap to think, “I’ll be happy when my child does X” or “I’ll stop worrying if my child stops doing Y” or “I’ll feel accomplished as a parent when my child accomplishes Z”. Yet, we have these kinds of thoughts about our kids...