Home:Home and Family / Parenting

Parents of tweens and teens often complain how their kids tune them out. Teens say the same thing about how their parents "never listen." Could it be that when we multi-task and only pretend to listen to our kids we're actually teaching them that auto-pilot listening is the way we communicate it in this family?

When we think about our sweetest holiday memories from childhood, we usually recall having fun with people we really cared about who loved us back. Yet when we bombard our kids with "stuff" rather than focus on the essence of family connections, we miss a chance to teach them what the holidays are really all about.

When tweens or teens push our buttons and we automatically react in anger, we tend to make a family situation worse. But when we can stop and ask ourselves "What does my child need right now?" we have a better chance of responding with clarity, compassion and understanding. That kind of thoughtful response will likely improve a parent-teen relationship.

Teens are often clueless when it comes to building and maintaining healthy relationships (the only kind worth having). It's not their fault since no one is born with relationship smarts. As parents, it our responsibility to educate our tweens and teens about what is and is not appropriate behavior in the Boyfriend/Girlfriend Zone.

As parents it's our biological imperative to solve all of our kids problems so that their lives hum along without a bump in the road. Or is that really what good parenting is all about?

Shielding children from some of life's harsher realities, ie. illness and death, robs them of important opportunities to learn how to be fully human. Unexpressed emotions don't just go away, they continue to impact our lives and our relationships.

Ok parents, Halloween is almost here which means you will have a ton of fun making lots of silly and spooky memories with your children but you also need to take the extra steps to ensure that your children are safe during the holiday festivities.

An article that gives 3 tips to cope with separation from our adult children.

When you think of your bathroom you probably think of it as a place of relaxation or relief. A retreat you go to in your home when you need to unwind. This serene place can also pose a lot of danger to your children so you need to take extra precautions to keep it safe. Things to think about:

First time moms have tons of questions and concerns like how to I feed the baby? Am I feeding he/she enough? How do I get them to sleep through the night? And so forth. One major question to ask yourself is how do I keep my baby safe in the nursery. The nursery is supposed to be a babies happy and safe place but it can be dangerous if parents are not careful. Things to consider and remember: