One of Stephen Covey’s principles in the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is to begin with the end in mind. He starts with envisioning your funeral. Instead of starting there, I want you to envision the qualities you want your children to have when they are all grown up.

Read More »

In the United States, this is a three day weekend. Yet for parents everywhere, it didn’t mean a day off or even getting to sleep late. For most parents the idea of self care is simply a mirage that we hope will occur when our children finally grow up.

While we all love our kids, few parents make it through all eighteen plus years without a few days when they just want off the parenthood ride.

Read More »

Have you ever considered the effect that noise has on you or your family? We have become so accustomed to noisy environments that most humans are now uncomfortable with silence. Even when we turn everything off, we have a constant hum in the background of our life from the refrigerator, the heating and cooling systems and our electronics. However, we don’t even hear that anymore because we fill the airwaves with the sounds of television, music and gaming systems. In some households, it is rare for the family to ever turn the television off.

Read More »

One of Wayne Dyer’s parenting tips has stuck with me for a long time. He says that the goal of parents is to catch their kids doing things right and then make a big deal out of those things. His philosophy is that your child will choose to do more of those things because they get a lot of attention for them.

If your inital gut reaction was to reject this idea, I’d like to encourage you to stop for just a moment and think about it.

Read More »

When you meet someone amazing, who happens to have kids, at some point you realize that if things get serious, you are going to be a step-parent!! There are few positive role models for step-parenting (Disney definitely isn’t a fan!) and it isn’t at all the same as becoming a parent yourself. As a step-parent for eighteen years with five steps and seven step-grands, there are a few things I wish that I’d known back at the beginning. Here are my top 5 step-parenting tips:

Read More »

When everyone in your household gets enough rest, everything is easier. You cope with stress better; your kids are less grouchy; things like homework get done with less fussing. As simple as it seems, it can be a challenge to get your family into a rhythm that promotes restful sleep.

Read More »

When you first thought about being a parent, you probably had all sorts of things that you couldn’t wait to do or share with your little one. At the beginning, it feels like eighteen or so years will provide more than enough time to do everything on your list and more.

Read More »

We all recognize that bullying is a significant problem that is getting a lot of attention today. I know when I see bullying on televisions or in movies, I have flashbacks to my own school days – so I know it isn’t a new problem. It can be physical but more often is verbal or psychological. The message is “you are weak, you are helpless and you aren’t as good as I am”.

Read More »

I saw a picture on Facebook that said “Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love and twice the pride.” Yep!

There is no doubt that parenting is hard work. Being a single parent is doubly so.

Read More »

At one point in my life I worked for the same company, and had the same commute for 12 years. After a few months of unemployment, I returned to work with a new job and a different route to work. By Wednesday or Thursday of that first week, the excitement had dulled and I was dragging myself from bed at an incredibly early hour.

Read More »

When a relationship comes to an end, whether with a whimper or a bang, it hurts. When you have children, it isn’t only your feelings that are involved. How you go about telling your children you’re getting a divorce will set the stage for how things unfold in the long run.

Read More »