What happens when two strong individuals come together to raise a child? Are they able to surrender control? How do they deal with sharing tasks? Who gets to be right and who gets to be wrong? How can they make positive communication a habit and avoid criticizing each other. Most importantly, how can they make their baby a project […]
None of us should expect to be happy all the time. We can, however, choose to be happy most of the time, and being happy is not only a matter of perspective, but also a healthy long-term strategy. Although the expression is “Necessity is the mother of invention.”, I have learned the importance of “inventing” my own […]
“Lazy” isn’t a word that is often associated with “better,” but I must confess that I am, and have always been, a lazy father. Sure, I’ve coached a lot teams, driven a bunch of carpools and changed my share of diapers – but I’ve always done it the easiest way possible – MY way. Doing […]
There are few better opportunities to teach our children about the feelings of others than their birthdays – and the way we celebrate them. Birthday parties thrown for one-year-olds are clearly done for the benefit of the parents and posterity. Get lots of pictures, be sure you feed the adults, and hire a clown (or […]
Yesterday, I had the very entertaining opportunity to participate in morning drop-off at a local pre-school. In my capacity at the door, I observed several parenting styles at work – some I thought were quite efficient, and some I observed adding unnecessary complication to the parents’ lives. On this blog and in my book — […]
I wrote “Raising Children That Other People Like to be Around” because, after 36 years of marriage and 4 children, I believe that being good parents requires us to set a good example – and having a good relationship is the first, most important step in creating a model for loving interaction. So here are […]
The Blue Pink Thing is a simple term for the obvious (and not so obvious) differences between the genders. If you’re raising both boys and girls, I’m sure you are already aware of the Blue Pink Thing. As John Gray put it, “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus,” and those differences manifest […]
My name is Richard, and I am an addict. When my children were young and asleep I used to sneak into our family room, power up our Nintendo, and quietly play the now-ancient video game with infectious music called “The Legend of Zelda” into the wee we hours,. Night after night after night – not […]
One day, when Aaron was about around two years old, JoAnn went out to runs some errands, leaving Aaron and me to wash my beloved navy blue two-door Fiat (because that’s what guys do to bond). The car, being a European two-door coupe, had very little room in the back, but just enough room for a car seat. […]
Here are five quick tests: Do you…let your children boss you around? (Do they say things like “Where’s my breakfast?”) Do you…make excuses for your children? (“She would have said ‘Thank you.’ but she was too busy playing.”) Are you afraid your child won’t love you if you say “No”? Have you ever let your […]