Children can behave in ways that confuse us. Whether that is a tantrum out of nowhere or a kick to the shins, we find ourselves asking, “Why aren’t you listening? Why are you acting this way?” And those questions often lead to deeper, more challenging questions like, “What am I doing wrong?” or “Did I cause this?” When children struggle with behavior, it is easy to become focused on stopping the behavior itself. We try consequences, explanations, rewards, reminders, and lectu

Parents often parent how they were parented. Obviously, it’s not that simple. What I mean is that every person has ghosts from the nursery, times during their upbringing when their needs were not being met. And these ghosts follow us into parenting, often from generation to generation. You may take conscious steps to do things differently than your parents, but the patterns are ingrained so deeply that you have to reach inside yourself and heal from how you were parented so t

It’s More Than Just Telling Them to Say “Please” I like to believe we live in a polite society, but it can always be more polite. One of the ways we create a kinder and more considerate world is by teaching our children how to use their manners from the very beginning. Children, even toddlers, are capable of being polite. And really, manners are not just about politeness. They are about learning to consider other people in our interactions. To live in a society, we need to le