Family dinner is one of those minimum requirements in my work/life, so we do our best to sit together for dinner most days of the week. A few days ago, I prepared shredded chicken taco salad. As we set the table I muttered under my breath, “Darn…forgot to make the Mexican rice.” My seven-year-old daughter [...]

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Lately, my home feels like a battleground as my three children - 7, 5 and nearly 3 - engage in non-stop verbal, and sometimes physical, disputes over just about everything. Most of it is initiated by my clever little boy, who attempts to leverage his position in the family as “the baby” to his advantage. [...]

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How many times, in desperate frustration, have you asked your kids, husband, friend or co-worker/staff, “Are you listening to me?” Listening is the key to effective communication. Yet, after more than 18 years of education, spanning from Kindergarten to graduate school, I never took a single class on the most important communication tool of all [...]

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I do my best to model the kind of behavior that I want to see in my children, but sometimes I just don’t get it right.
One of the areas I’m constantly working on is forgiveness. I have an unattractive tendency to hold a grudge…for a long time. For instance, during my recent experience interviewing for [...]

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Last Friday I was compelled to pull my two youngest kids out of the preschool there were enrolled in. If you’re a super-paranoid working mom overwhelmed by the guilt of leaving your kids in the care of others, then maybe you’ll want to skip for the reason why I suddenly took them out. [...]

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(Article submitted by Foundations for Families)

Selecting child care is one of the most important decisions a parent will make. Choosing someone with whom to entrust your child may feel overwhelming or emotionally charged. You want your child to thrive, grow and learn in a setting that is developmentally appropriate and emotionally nurturing. There are some [...]

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(This article was submitted by guest author Sue Rasmussen)

Stepmother’s Classic Complaints
Here is a list of ‘Stepmother’s Classic Complaints’, developed by the Stepfamily Foundation in their over 30 years of working with stepfamilies. Do any of them sound like you?

“Everyone in his life, his kids, his former wife, and his business, [...]

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(This article was submitted by Guest Author, Michelle MacLaughlin, M.A.)
The Single Working Mother (SWM) wears many hats. It is easy to get lost in the swirling energy of obligation, leaving you feeling mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually drained.
What can you do?
First, take a breath and slow down! Then try one or more of these additional [...]

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