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...
On a clear day Rise and look around you, And you'll see who you are. On a clear day How it will astound you That the glow of your being Outshines every star. As I listened to Barbra Streisand sing "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)," written over 50 years ago by...
It's hard enough managing everything in a life - home, meals, bills, etc. Add to that being exhausted from a stressful job or raising kids. Or both! And further, add to that the pain of frustration, disappointment, or discouragement when your child doesn't do what's...
Here's a quote worth reading and thinking about, from Frank Martin, head coach of the South Carolina men's basketball team: "You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven't changed. Kids don't know anything...
I know several parents whose child is fast approaching adolescence. Even raising a sweet child can be difficult in many ways, but after puberty the challenges change. Middle school-aged children don't want to be treated like sweet little kids anymore. Far from being...
I saw something striking while shopping for groceries the other day. A young boy, about 13 years old, was walking just ahead of his parents. No, not walking. Sort of dancing, as if he were a lurching, broken robot. A green bunch of hair shot straight up from the top...
With a new documentary, the "Lorena Bobbitt story" is in the media again. Do you remember her - the woman who, almost 30 years ago, was raped by her husband; and then while he slept, she cut off his...with a kitchen knife and tossed it into a grassy field? For a while...