Real Love When we think about an ideal mother we tend to think about someone who is nurturing, loving, caring, compassionate, available, soft, and empathic. In reality we are not able to nor are we meant to live perfection. As … Continue reading
Growing Pains Life is beautiful…and difficult; a paradox that is almost always exacerbated when raising children. Parenting is a challenging career. Most jobs offer training and experience. However, when it comes to the job of parenting no proper job description … Continue reading
Strengthening Family Resilience The demands of work, school, and activities can weigh us down. At times we all struggle with finding balance in our lives. However, in the midst of our challenges we also have opportunities to work through conflict and build healthy connections. What … Continue reading
The Real Deal Your 5-year-old is pulling on your arm to get your attention and in the process you drop a plate of food you were carrying to the table. Startled by the crash and frustrated by the mess, you react by … Continue reading
Gifts that Last a Lifetime What are the best gifts for children that truly last a lifetime? You will not find them in a box with a bow. They lack wires and screens. You will not find them on sale. These … Continue reading
The Journey Continues A school day morning, and we need to get out the door. “Please get dressed,” dad says. When he doesn’t come downstairs I go up to find him sitting on his floor, in his pajamas, playing with … Continue reading
Supporting children’s emotions As parents, our responsibility is to help children process through their experiences. This is not an easy task. It is easy to feel triggered by children’s big emotions, whether it be fear, anger, or sadness; especially when … Continue reading
The Transgenerational Train When looking at generational influences in parenting you can think of a train with the youngest generation represented by the car in the front. There is a lot of energy, zest, and excitement in the front of … Continue reading
Transformational Parenting Our family just returned from 10 days in the wilderness. With our 9 and 11 year olds, my husband and I hiked over 40 miles, shared one small tent, told stories, sang songs, and pressed the reset button … Continue reading
Are Children Naturally Resilient? We want to trust our children’s capacity to handle life’s difficulties and swe do not want to over-protect them. If we, as parents, jump in too quickly to solve problems for our children we may hinder … Continue reading