7 Tips to Help Kids Overcome Negativity
Q Our 10-year-old son, Scott, is negative about his abilities. He says he is not smart enough. He often claims assignments are too difficult, so he doesn’t try do them. There is a lot of complaining. He wants help with assignments he is capable of completing....
Dad’s Guide to Celebrating Mom and Step Mom
Q My wife and I have a blended family. We each have kids from previous marriages and a child together. Our children range in age from 6 to 13. I want the children to do something special to honor my wife on Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day can be busy, stressful, and not...
How Can Kids Help the Earth?
Q Our 8-year-old daughter Olivia saw a television program about the environment. The show stressed the need for everyone to do more to save the environment. Olivia seems to feel an urgency to help the earth. She becomes angry when she sees people throwing...
Pretend Play: Why It’s Good for Kids
Q Can you tell my husband and me exactly what imaginative play is? Are there benefits of this type of play? If so, what is our role as parents, to encourage imaginative play for our 4-year-old daughter Kara? A Imaginative play also called pretend...
7 Ways to Help Your Kids Express and Identify Emotions
QI overheard our daughter Lisa, age 12, and her friend Patty talking about how they hate two boys in their class. Hate is such a strong emotion. Why would they hate these boys? Lisa also claims to be in love with a boy in her class. A I have...
How to Get Your Teens out of Bed In The Morning
Q. We have two boys, ages 13 and 16. My husband leaves early for work, so it’s my job to get the boys up, ready for school and out to the car for the drive to school. I have to call them several times before they finally get up. By then I’m frantic, because we barely...
Resolution: Become Better Parents
Q My husband asked about my New Year's resolution. I shared that my resolution for 2025 is to be a better mother to our children ages 4, 7, and 12. He liked my idea and decided to resolve to be a better father. What do you think of our resolutions? Do you have any...
7 Ways to Teach Kids Generosity
QMy wife and I have children 3 and 7 years old. They are accustomed to getting lots of gifts for birthdays, Christmas, and when we return from a vacation. They have yet to think about and to give gifts to others. We would like our children to begin to focus not only...
Family Holidays: Fun or Disaster?
Q I’m dreading the holidays. My husband, children, and I split the holidays between each of our families. To reduce the stress, I want to go late and leave early. Am I alone in feeling this way or do other people experience added tension during the holidays?...
Creating Meaningful Family Memories
Q My husband and I work long hours. We don’t spend much time with our kids. We have a twelve-year-old son and a daughter who is eight. The kids complain that we don’t attend school activities as often as other parents. To make matters worse, my sister tells me that we...
Is Your Family Overcommitted?
Q My husband and I have three children, ages fifteen, eleven and nine. I’m worried that our kids will get involved in so many school and extracurricular activities that our family will be overcommitted this fall. How can we tell if we’ve created a lifestyle...
Easing Into Changing Schools
Q Our son Dennis, who is 11 years old loves his elementary school. He doesn’t want to switch to middle school this fall. I think he’s worried about losing his friends and having to make new ones in an unfamiliar setting. He is having trouble sleeping and his...
