Several years ago, I got into a car accident and totalled my car (ok, my mother’s car).  Thankfully, no one was hurt and the only injury I sustained was to my bank account, which was hit with a hefty fine for “following too close”.  The other driver was forgiving, my parents showed concern only for [...]

I came across a beautifully written article by author Leslie Gilbert-Lurie in the Huffington Post called “10 Ways to Minimize Your Child’s Stress.” Leslie is a daughter of a Holocaust survivor and talks about the stress that can be passed on from generation to generation. She has wonderful suggestions for dealing with this and other [...]

I felt a sadness and a quiet desperation when I read an article in parentcentral.ca by Joseph Hall called “Children Feel Weight of Body Image.” He discusses the tragic obsession about body image and weight in our youth. Nothing new except that the study under discussion looked at about 4,200 children from Nova Scotia and [...]

If it was possible to pass on just one piece of advice from the wisdom I have gained from parenting, it would be this: Embrace your child’s anxiety.

Many parents don’t do this because they hold two mistaken beliefs. First, they believe that it is their responsibility to make their child happy; and second, they believe that feelings of anxiety in their child means that they have failed somehow.

I came across a great article entitled “Top 7 Sites for Parenting How-To Videos” on Mashable – The Social Media Guide. It was written by Jeana Lee Thnk. Jeana has researched sites that give parenting advice using how-to videos. I find this a wonderful connected way of communication. The videos from these sites that I [...]

Just read a great article called “Why Have Trustful Parenting and Children’s Freedom Declined in Recent Decades?” written by Peter Gray for Psychology Today about some of the reasons why parents today feel the need to be overly directive and protective in raising their children.  He talks about some of the historical and social shifts in communities, schooling and [...]

Emotional intelligence, also known as EQ, refers to our ability to understand our own emotions and the emotions of others. One can then act on that understanding to shape a positive outcome. This intelligence relating to our emotions produces many characteristics. Empathy, kindness, self-confidence, good listening skills, humour and acceptance of self and others are [...]

Check out this article on examiner.com called “Parenting and Education 101: How do you prepare for the first day of kindergarten?” Maya Creedman gives some suggestions to parents for dealing with their child’s first day at kindergarten. This is a succinct and helpful article. There is one sentence in particular that I liked, “If your [...]

The experience of ourselves, others and the world is not bestowed upon us, but created by us. The objectivity of events is an illusion, an organizing force born out of our creative minds but attributed to our rational brains. We know what we think and therefore think that we know. Personal perception, however, is anything [...]

As the summer draws to a close, school feels like a distant memory to many children. Many focus on the unknown like their teachers, new children and curriculum. This can result in feelings of panic, anxiety and overwhelm. True, there are many new things that they must face but for most there is also much [...]