As I write this, Vladimir Putin has decided that he wants Ukraine to become a part of Russia. The people of Ukraine don't want this; they want to remain their own nation, separate from Russia. But rather than enter into peaceful relations with Ukraine, Putin has...
So many of the emotional flare-ups and conflicts that arise between parent and child are triggered by the failure to communicate effectively. Instead, we react emotionally, with frustration or anger. It's only natural, but it alienates your child. It's an old story....
Trying to conserve on electricity, you ask the family to turn off lights when leaving a room that they don't plan to return to soon. But most of the time your son/daughter forgets to do this simple thing. You remind them and they agree to try harder. But when you walk...
Helping a young human being grow up to be a happy, successful, and independent adult has to be the hardest thing you can do. People are astoundingly complex; even kids are complex, growing more so year by year until they leave home. And yet, few parents have had the...
Fifty years ago, I began my graduate work at Duke University. Although I was an Army captain, a graduate of West Point and the Army Ranger School, and a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, my main interest was literature. I was a published poet, I won First...
Discouragement is when someone experiences loss, adversity, or failure and as a result they lose confidence in their own strengths and abilities to cope. They lose heart. This happens to kids a lot. Every day, a child struggles with the painful struggles of growing...
As I write this, the Covid-19 coronavirus in the U.S. has been killing about 3,000 people every day. I know several people who have become infected. A member of my extended family died from the infection. This pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in our...
Even though kids are a work-in-progress, their current knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and motivation can lead to more learning and achievement. They may also bring a unique set of core personal strengths, such as patience, self-confidence, persistence, and many...
It’s often said that experience is the best teacher and that the value of mistakes is that you can learn from them. There’s a lot of wisdom in this. It's why we don't want to protect our kids from every mistake and failure while they're growing up. If an activity...
With every choice, there is a consequence. And the situation of that consequence sets up another choice. One choice after another, we create our life paths and become who we are. It's a process that continues throughout one's life. It's how a child gradually becomes...