School Age Kids

One of my happiest early memories is of reading with my mother. She didn’t send me to kindergarten, but instead taught me to read and write at home with the children’s books we had in every corner of the house. I specifically remember reading Alice in Wonderland with her, and it’s a memory I will always treasure. My mother instilled in me a love for reading that I thankfully passed on to my daughters. Children should be encouraged to read as early as possible. Parents and caregivers can do this by reading to them when they are very young and helping them learn to read as they become ready. Reading should be made exciting and fun, not just a homework chore to

I was an insane mother. I worked full-time building our businesses, which required quite a bit of travel, while raising two daughters. So, overcompensation for this personality type was a must! If my girls were going to be subjected to seasons of a busy, pop-in, pop-out mother, then I determined that when I was home I would be over the top. I sewed their Halloween costumes (yeah don’t follow my lead, store-bought is great), baked and decorated their birthday cakes, and spent hours with them handcrafting Christmas ornaments on two hours of sleep. I’m not recommending this; I’m just sharing the details of my guilt-ridden, crazy mothering and overcompensating life. The year I made a portable doll bed (large enough for a small

I have been wrestling with the word “discipline” lately. The actual dictionary definition is, “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” Really? When I think of discipline, I guess I think of being disciplined as doing what is expected, not being out of line. But using punishment is not exactly how I feel we should teach our kids to behave. I like to think of the word “train” instead. We set the example, we encourage the positive behavior, and we teach and point out consequences of negative behavior. Modeling the behavior that you expect sounds so obvious, but it isn’t easy. Here’s an example of how this awareness played out in our

What are some things that bother you about your kids? Things that get on your nerves, things that scare you, things that embarrass you? What is the first thing that comes to mind? I have to admit, for me it is often the petty things. I just mopped (for the first time in a month) and they spill milk all over the floor. They unintentionally break the new toy the day after they receive it, or maybe even the same day if we’re talking about one of mine. They are a block away from home in their underwear, pushing a beach cart. They do not know how to talk at a normal volume. These things are annoying, sometimes embarrassing, but they are

We’ve all had bad days. For me, personally, the best way to cope has been to find some inner peace. My kids are calmer when I’m calmer. My husband is less anxious when I’m relaxed. The phrase, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” has been proven in our home time and time again. Here are a few thoughts I have found comforting on bad days: “This too shall pass.” Tomorrow, today will be a memory. Next week, you might even be able to laugh about it. “I am loved.” When your children scream at you and pitch temper tantrums, remember that you are loved, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. “I’m their Mom, not their friend.” Disciplining your

When my husband and I became parents, we had big plans about how we were going to mold and shape our children into respectful and respectable little people. We have now been parents for 10 years, and I have to admit we have learned more and become better parents in the past two than we did in the first eight. Two years ago we added to our family by adopting a 7-year-old boy from China. Adopting an older child from a difficult past means reading lots of books on trauma, attachment issues and the brain. Luckily, I have a great interest in these subjects, so the learning is fun. Putting the principles we’ve learned into practice with patience and grace is not

As if it wasn’t hard enough to make choices in parenting—about feeding, sleeping, immunizations, organics and other options that plague parents from day one—there comes a day when we also have to determine what education option is the best for our child. We think age five is going to be a golden age of post-potty-training, semi-independent reading, and the ability to swim and ride a bike without us watching them constantly; instead, kindergarten looms around the corner with its myriad of challenges. How we educate our children is perhaps the most crucial of our parenting choices, or at least it feels that way. There is not only enormous pressure to choose the absolute best for our kids, that which seemingly will prepare