Parenting

• What Does It Take to Raise Happy Children?

  One of the most frequent comments I get from parents is “I just want my kid to be happy.” Though an admirable and common objective, happiness is one of the most neglected family values in twenty-first-century America. Few parents grasp the essential meaning of happiness for their children and fewer still understand how they can help their children to find it.

• Make The Connection: Start Disciplining With Love

  To discipline is to teach. When we discipline we teach our children to have self-control, to be considerate of others, and to feel secure. A home with no discipline is a recipe for chaos.

• 10 Ways To Help Kids To Really Say No And Buck Peer Pressure

  Assertive skills can be taught to kids. Though it is never too late, the sooner parents start boosting this friendship skill builder, the greater your child’s confidence will be in social settings, and the easier you’ll sleep.

• How To Protect Kids From Cyber-Bullying

  Mom and Dad, wake up: If you assume your child is using that fancy home computer to stimulate his brain, think again. The hottest new trend has kids using those keyboards to send vile, hateful and highly slanderous messages about their peers through the Internet.

• Potty Training In One Day: What Does It Mean?

  If these words evoke the idea of a magic pill image in your mind i.e. all I have to do is spend some money here and boom, my child will be potty trained in one day that’s it s/he will go from diapers/pull-ups to potty training pants and will not have accidents and we will all live happily ever after.

• Today’s Family Man: Breathing Lessons

  Early one week in January, I commented to my wife that little Ari—then only eight weeks old—was faring well during the cold and flu season. On the very next Saturday, he got a stuffed-up nose. The next day, he slept a lot and his breathing seemed slightly ragged. Still, being experienced parents, we thought he’d be fine with basic care.

• Annoyed, Impatient Dads

  When you do feel these feelings of impatience or a lack of control, practice “being with the feelings.” Don’t fight them. Use a calm voiceno yelling, shame, or criticizing. Stay with the feelings until they pass. Don’t worry, you’ll make it through, and you will get better at it!

• Affirming Your Children’s Voice: How And When To Encourage Your Child To Speak Up

  Children don’t automatically know when and how to speak up. They don’t understand the appropriate times to interrupt. Nor do they often demonstrate the skills that will enable them to speak up effectively. They don’t understand the power of words and how to use them to create change in their lives.