It was obviously time for the boys to try sleep away camp, and the camp I chose was only an hour away. At the ages of 8 and 10, and able to go the same week, I knew it was time for my kids to experience the joys of interacting with the woods without their parents hovering. I loved going to summer camp as a kid, and I was sure they were ready for it.
Continue reading “Why I Sent My Kids to Summer Camp”Category: Resilience
How to Hack Your Brain with Happy Music
Neuroscientists have found a scientific equation to identify the best feel good songs. Or you can download the playlist.
Did you know you can hack your brain with the right music? If you want to be happier, you can listen to happy music. However, if you need to work through some darker feelings, music in sync with that can help.
Continue reading “How to Hack Your Brain with Happy Music”Forgiving Ourselves: Letting Go of Shame in Parenting
A guest post by Dr. Melissa Welby.
I make parenting mistakes daily. Maybe I forget to do something I said I was going to do, not have enough patience to adeptly navigate parenting challenges, or waste my time mindlessly scrolling social media instead of focusing on more productive areas. I will never be perfect, despite doing my best.
Continue reading “Forgiving Ourselves: Letting Go of Shame in Parenting”I had a Mom Meltdown at the Star Wars Celebration.
Tickets sold out within minutes, and my husband knew our chances of taking the boys to the 2019 Star Wars Celebration were about zero. But only a week before the event we got off the wait-list and got tickets! The kids were going to love it! I mean, this was Star Wars.
Continue reading “I had a Mom Meltdown at the Star Wars Celebration.”When Should I Praise My Child?
Today’s question was sent in by Joy. “When should I praise my child?” She asks. She’s worried that she’s not praising her kids enough. She thinks that if she doesn’t they will feel insecure about themselves, and maybe have more bad behavior.
Continue reading “When Should I Praise My Child?”My Article “Mothers Are Drowning In Stress” Is Going Viral
Mothers Really Needed to Hear that the Stress Is Not Their Fault.
When I saw the publisher’s summary of Dr. Caitlyn Collin’s book, Making Motherhood Work, I knew this was the research I was looking for. I couldn’t put it down; I read her book in 4 days. Here at last was documentation of what I claimed in my TEDx talk, The Parenting “ShouldStorm”. Dr. Collins’ research shows how mothers all over the world feel the pressure. But American mothers are the ones drowning in stress they didn’t create and can’t fix on their own. In a world that still believes in intensive mothering, American women get the least support.
Continue reading “My Article “Mothers Are Drowning In Stress” Is Going Viral”How Much Time Should You Spend With Your Child?
One of the most common shoulds that burden parents is this: “I should spend more time with my kids. Parents tell me. “I feel like I’m not spending enough time with them. I should spend more.”
So how much time should you spend with your child? Before we look at that, it’s worth doing a little inventory. When we do, we often find that we are actually spending a great deal of time with our kids. Why don’t we notice this? Why are we always sure we are falling short?
Continue reading “How Much Time Should You Spend With Your Child?”What is a Family Meeting?
What is a family meeting? It’s a chance for everyone to sit down together and check in about how you are doing as a family. And it’s one of the most effective tools for parenting that I know.
Continue reading “What is a Family Meeting?”The Dread of Waiting in Lines at Disney
Waiting in Lines on Family Vacation
Despite hours of waiting at lines at Disney World, there is no way around it: Disney is one of my favorite family trips. That’s because Disney is just different. The grounds are clean, and so is the language people use. There are very few people pushing, you are surrounded by people who are generally reasonably happy and enjoying time with family.
Continue reading “The Dread of Waiting in Lines at Disney”The Summer of No TV
Creativity and Boredom
Where we grew up, there were still lots of older homes with no central air conditioning. The summers were hot and humid. There were a few activities you could sign up for at the middle school, but they weren’t all day camps. There were morning swimming lessons in the freezing cold community pool, but after that there was not much to do. The kids that were around did tend to spend a lot of time inside using their Nintendo’s. We already knew our mom was a little different from the other moms. She made us eat whole-grain bread and natural peanut butter, and our snacks were pieces of cheese and fruit. We didn’t get free access to hostess cakes like our friends did. Our TV time was limited, and we had never owned a Nintendo.
Continue reading “The Summer of No TV”