I know a number of people who have toddlers that they describe as “difficult.” These children have been complicated from the start. As tiny tyrants, they’ve spit out their food, pounded the table, or thrown tantrums unabated while their better-behaved siblings and/or parents sat by marveling at the insanity of it and not really knowing what […]
Our son Ben recently called and said “We’re pregnant!” JoAnn, my wife, was very quick to point out that Ben’s wife, Kelsie is pregnant and that they are having a baby. After all, JoAnn asks, “Is Ben nauseous all the time?” “Are his ankles swollen?” “Is he constantly overheated?” Well… no. Of course our son […]
I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately about Adam LaRoche. He’s the former Chicago White Sox player who retired last week after being asked to limit the amount of time his 14-year-old son, Drake, was spending with the team. There wasn’t a problem with Drake. According to all media reports and interviews Drake is […]
Teaching our children respect for others starts with teaching them respect for us, and this can be done without sacrificing our children’s individuality or personal development. First, we have to believe in the importance of our role as parents, and not defer our responsibility to anyone else. Last year, while visiting the JFK Library in Boston, […]
As JoAnn and I began navigating the parenting waters, we found that, in the process of defining our values, we were also determining some basic rules for running the family ship “our way.” These were our first three basic questions: Is it safe? Will this create a habit? Does this make sense to me/us? […]
Every relationship is different – and there are key elements in successful (and unsuccessful) marriages that I’m trying to identify for my next book. By taking Part 1 of this quick, ten-minute, survey you would be helping me identify some of the most common issues (good and bad) that arise in relationships. If you’ve already […]
Today my wife, JoAnn, and I are celebrating the thirty-eighth anniversary of our marriage. I’m not bragging… frankly, I’m amazed. Everyone asks, “What’s the secret?” I’ll attempt to explain in a moment. Now that we have grown children I can only imagine what our parents were thinking when we moved in together at age nineteen. […]
For many children, this time of year is about getting gifts far more than giving them. This is completely understandable, as these holidays are for many parents an opportunity to show children that we love them and we want them to be happy. But it’s also important to teach our kids that giving presents can […]
People have asked me how to address intercultural diversity and Christmas-related issues with their children. I’ll start with the message of goodwill toward others and work back from there. I’m Jewish, but this December I will be happy to say “Merry Christmas” to as many people as possible. Some of them may reply with a […]
Let’s not blame the trophies. First, it’s important to note that I’m not addressing the concept of “grade inflation” or the idea that every child in a given class is an honor student (as was eloquently written about by Michael Sigman in his article “When Everyone Gets a Trophy, No One Wins.”) I’m writing about […]