Short Story

Mom, Dad and 6-year-old Tommy went to a restaurant for dinner. After reading their menus, each member of the family placed an order. Dad:  “I’ll have the garlic veal with fried rice.”Mom:  “I’ll have grilled chicken with the chef’s salad.” Tommy:  “I’ll have a corned beef sandwich with extra pickles.” Mom hastened to interrupt, as [...]

Children’s Wants Versus Needs

The Art of Letting Go, Pt 2 by:  Alan W. Carson ACPI® Coach for Parents In my first article on letting go, we focused on the importance of parents requiring that their kids accept an increasing amount of responsibility as they mature.  The goal is that our children can largely succeed on their own by [...]

The Art of Letting Go

The Art of Letting Go, Part 1 Alan W. Carson ACPI® Coach for Parents While working as a middle school guidance counselor, a young 6th grade teacher called me from her classroom telephone and asked if we could talk about an e-mail she received from a parent. I said, “Of course,” and went up to [...]

Conflict Resolution

Dear RaisingSmallSouls, I’m a stay-at-home mom of two rambunctious boys, aged 5 and 3. lately, I feel like all they do is fight, fight, fight! (“I want the blue car” – “Me, me” – you get the picture!) How can I make it stop? Thanks, A Frazzled Mom Dear Frazzled Mom, You may find comfort [...]

Heart Energy

I came across some fascinating studies from the HeartMath Institute regarding the human heart’s energy output- which can dramatically change the way we perceive our interaction with our family each morning! Scientists have discovered that the output energy of the human heart is larger than any other organ, including the brain. They measured blood pressure, [...]

“The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting”

On Saturday, Time Magazine was dropped through my mail slot and I glanced at the mail and was intrigued to see that the cover story was by Nancy Gibbs on the topic of “helicopter parenting”. Here’s the introduction: “Overparenting got way out of control in the past generation. But now a band of rebels is [...]

A Parenting Nightmare

Question: How can you and your child get past you walking in on her (7 years old) watching an Adult movie for about 1 hour & 23 minutes  to be exact.  My husband was watching her and fell asleep, so she chose her own movie. Sincerely, Eva in San Fransico, CA Answer by Dyan Eybergen, [...]

Teen Drinking

Question: My 13-year-old son has come home from friend’s houses with alcohol on his breath a few too many times. My husband says that a drink here and there is nothing to worry about. My husband is not an alcoholic; he hardly ever gets drunk although he has a glass or two of wine to [...]

Progress, Not Perfection

Recently I noticed a bumper sticker in a parking lot which read, “Progress, not Perfection.” Hundreds of examples of how to apply that motto to childrearing rushed through my head as I made my way past that shiny sedan. Although most of those ideas flew right out of my brain by the time I got [...]

My Son is Ruining my Life!

Question: I am sorry about how this may sound, but my eight-year-old son is ruining my life. He is bossy, whiny, demanding, and disrespectful. This is despite years of my strictly enforcing our house rules of respect, proper conduct, and love. My husband and I are worn out and as our son gets older his [...]

Independence

Celebrating Independence Day this weekend on July 4th, I gazed at the brilliant display of fireworks and pondered what freedom means to us today. Freedom is all about having the ability to make choices. Yet, I wondered, how much freedom is truly mine, and how much have I relinquished in order to fit into a [...]

Childhood Fears

Question: My son is aged 7 years old and has a lot of fears in him. He has a fear of heights, in so much as he will not climb onto a 6 foot slide in a park. He will not even sit on a swing. He is afraid of being in a swimming pool, [...]

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