When you improve the way you listen, your child will feel respected and understood, so they stay open to your guidance and the bond between you grows stronger.
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Does Your Child Think about the Future?
Driving home, I saw a young man walking on the sidewalk. Shirtless in the midday sun, he sported a tanned, muscular body. He seemed oblivious to a future consequence: excessive exposure to solar radiation (sunlight) can cause skin cancer. The sight reminded me of a...
The Top 5 Fundamentals
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...
7 Big Truths about Empathy
One of my favorite parenting experts is Deborah Gilboa, MD. also known as Dr. G. In the past I've shared several of her posts. In this video, "The Big Lie about Empathy," she shares some eyes-wide-open truths about EMPATHY. Probably nothing is more important to the...
The Magic of an Apology
Have you ever been exhausted, under pressure, and upset - all at the same time? If you have, then you know how easy it is to lash out, yell, or say something you later regret. This is a perfectly natural reaction. But consider what your child would feel on the...
Be a Coach, Not a Critic
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...
The Encouragement Inoculation
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...
Parents: You Have to Be the One
Many years ago, my business partners asked me to change my behavior. They claimed that I sometimes lashed out at them. When one referred to my behavior as verbally abusive, I became defensive. I thought they were exaggerating. They gave me an example. Once, in a...
The Key to Empathy: Imagining the Unimaginable
Have you ever looked up at the night sky on a clear night to see the North Star? If you can spot the Big Dipper, follow the line from the dipper to a very bright star named Polaris. This star helped seafarers navigate for centuries. It's very, very far away - over 300...
Parents Coaching Each Other: Improving Parent-Child Communication Skills
In many ways, I'm thrilled to put 2020 in my rear-view mirror. The awful Covid-19 pandemic. Also, this was the year my family moved to a new home. It's a nice home, and that's the good news. The bad news is that moving was a mentally and physically arduous process...