Parenting is one of the toughest jobs we will ever encounter. Before I had children, I remember thinking about what my family would look like, how my children would behave, and the perfection of it all. Of course, as soon as I gave birth, this unrealistic “storybook” fantasy was out the window. The dream we…
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Emotional intelligence is a phrase that you hear everywhere these days. I believe that it is essential that children, and adults, know how to express and cope with their emotions. Emotional Intelligence: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. When my kids were…
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Growing up with a feeling of “value” and “self-worth” is important for all of our children. In my personal and professional experience, I have learned that many adults did not feel a sense of self-worth as children. What does this mean exactly, and how does this affect adulthood? Self-worth is something that comes from within.…
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Emotions are a powerful force. Often times, we can take on the emotions of those around us and it can affect how we feel, behave, and react. It can cause us to want to try to control, fix, or change someone else’s feelings and attitudes. However, if we try to just control our own reactions…
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When it comes to our children, the simpler and more direct our messages, the better our chances are of being heard. When we speak in a lengthy format, trying to get our message across in a complicated manner, children see it as a lecture and start to tune us out rather quickly. When you address…
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It is never too late to change our behaviors, our beliefs, our thought patterns and our conditioning. Raising children is a never-ending job with lots of opportunities to do things differently. Each moment is a new moment. As we parent, it is important that we create opportunity or space for ourselves to pause and look…
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Sometimes apologizing is the hardest thing to do. Many of us have never learned how to do this. We were not born knowing how to take ownership of our actions, so the act of apologizing takes some time and practice. Apologizing is something that needs to be demonstrated to us in our families so that…
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They used to say, “Curiosity killed the cat.” I don’t really understand that concept since I think curiosity is one of the most powerful forces we have within us. What does it mean to be curious? For me, it is all about approaching something or someone without a preconceived judgment. When you are curious, you…
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Many times, as parents, we strive to be perfect. What does perfect even look like, anyway? We are all unique individuals who are perfectly imperfect. When we are in a place of acceptance of who we are and where we are in life, imagine the impact that has on our children? In the past, many…
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Recently I noticed that I was getting annoyed and heated up inside by the amount of screen usage in my home. During mealtime, we do not use screens. That has always been a time of connection, conversation, and sharing. What was really most upsetting to me was that during the hour or thirty minutes that…
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