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The Most Powerful Family Ritual? The Bedtime Story There is simply nothing more powerful than the bedtime story—especially in this age of continuous screen time. The bedtime story is the perfect ending to the day. So let’s rethink and reclaim this special decompression time for both parent and child. It is not just something we …
The Most Powerful Family Ritual? The Bedtime Story Read More »
“You are so good at that!” you announce to the child, firmly believing that this warm praise is going to boost the child’s self-esteem and… increase performance. But in study after study, and book after book, the widely accepted consensus is that complimenting your kids can cause lifelong problems and actually decrease performance, especially if you …
When Compliments Backfire: How to Give the Right Compliments to Kids Read More »
What’s better than baking cookies? Eating cookies other people have baked! This year organize a cookie swap. To keep it pandemic proof, consider a couple of alternatives to the in-person exchange. Have everyone participating bake on a specific weekend, and then pick a time to drop the cookies off at respective houses, or find …
Just in time for all the holiday meals coming up, we’ve got 39 table talk questions that will be sure to invoke giggles, guffaws, and gasps. We recommend slipping these wacky dinner conversation starters into your next family gathering to slip into the dinner conversation—everyone will learn some fascinating facts about the ones they …
The great thing about the holidays is having the chance to spend time with loved ones and create family traditions together. But this time of year can also get busy and go by fast, so to make sure we really enjoy the holidays and have lots of family fun, we suggest making a list of ideas …
Once your child is born, you can expect major changes in your life. Your focus goes from your own life to the life of your son or daughter, and that alone can be enough to scare parents. What many new parents don’t expect are some of the smaller, more subtle changes that are associated with …
5 Things They Don’t Tell You About Being A Parent Read More »
Is your teenager depressed? The symptoms may be harder to spot than obvious blues. The following are some of the signs of teenage depression, and are most significant when they occur in combination and over a period lasting more than two weeks. • First, sadness, anxiety and hopelessness. • Second, lack of interest in food …
The cold is a viral infection of the nose and throat. It usually passes in three or four day unless your child develops a complication. Call your child’s doctor if any of the following happens. – First, the eyelids develop a yellow drainage or are stuck together after a nap. This means your child needs …
Adults often ask me, “What question do you hear most from teens?” The most frequent concern that teens have, and the one most often voiced by patients, and in letters from readers of our books is, “Am I normal?” This question can be asked in many different ways. One teen might say, “I’m fourteen, but …
The prospect for seeking professional help from a family counselor, a psychologist, or psychiatrist can be a painful one. But your teen or your family may need professional help in the following instances: One, if you’re caught up in hurtful patterns of behavior that create and perpetuate tension within the family. Two, if your teen …
Sometime around four to six weeks, your baby’s sleeping and eating will begin to settle towards a pattern. Once he sometimes sleeps for three or four hours at a stretch, you’ll want him to do that at night and save his dozing for the day. You can’t make him and you can’t hurry him, but …
Are you coping with fatigue from a new baby? Well, cut your expectations of yourself in half. The immaculate home, the gourmet meals, and the beautifully organized schedule that you’ve prided yourself on aren’t as important right now as taking care of your baby and yourself. • Use paper plates and take-out meals for a …
This may be the first time you’re hiring someone unless you’ve had personnel experience at work. It’s natural to be a little ill at ease at first, but keep in mind that the person being interviewed is nervous too. • Begin with small talk to get acquainted. In an initial phone call introduce yourself, briefly …
Babies cry when they’re unhappy or uncomfortable. Crying is a distress signal. Babies don’t cry to exercise their lungs. A few of them cry because they’re in pain from an ear infection or a bad diaper rash, and most babies obviously cry when their hungry, but they stop as soon as you offer them a …
Expect some natural jealousy when you bring home a new brother or sister. Most children under three years of age prefer to be the only child, and here are some thoughts. ⢠First, give your older child the extra attention he’s asking for. Give him lots of hugs, scattered throughout the day, and if he …
More than 50% of women experience post partum blues in the third or fourth day after delivery. The symptoms include tearfulness, sadness, and even the inability to think clearly. The main cause of this temporary reaction is probably the sudden decrease in maternal hormones. Here are some ways to cope with post partum blues: ⢠…
Your new baby is sturdy and very well engineered, so don’t be afraid to handle him and move him around right from the start. During the first month or two it is important to support your baby’s head because it is quite wobbly. The earlier you start to help him develop strength, good muscle tone …
Babies vary from the beginning in how much sleep they need; a really wakeful baby may never sleep for more than 12 hours. You can’t care for a wakeful baby in short bursts and ignore him in between; he makes himself felt all day and maybe most of the night too. ⢠If he starts …
Most small babies love to be carried and cuddled, but some do not. If yours is an uncuddly baby, he may seem to resent the physical restriction of being held. • Instead of molding himself to the curves of your body, he probably wriggles and fights. He may hurt your feelings; you may have to …
Sometimes a baby seems to come out of her mother’s womb and into her arms and heart in a single move. Parents sometimes describe a feeling of instant recognition, so that all the waiting and wanting of pregnancy and labor culminate not just in a baby, but in this baby. But that kind of instant …
