Hi Jennifer,

I’ve always felt my daughter was maybe gifted somehow. She is 8 years old and extremely hard on herself. I think she is a perfectionist and gets very upset if she doesn’t do something perfect the first time. She then shuts down and won’t redo something. I am hoping this website might help me respond to these outbursts. She also has difficulty handling conflict with her peers. Her father (who doesn’t live with her) doesn’t think these are things to worry about but I do.

- Julie

I can’t help but notice the hype around the movie, “Where the Wild Things Are”. My daughter is seeing it twice in the upcoming couple of weeks. Once with her school and then again at a friend’s birthday party. Why are children and adults drawn to this story?

One morning, I was sitting enjoying my cup of coffee when the phone rang.

“Hi Rickie, it’s Marsha Jacobson. I was wondering if you would join mychildfeels.com as a contributor. We are looking for a perspective from a grandparent and I know you would be great. I still remember advice you gave me years ago.”

What does it mean to have a sense of humour and where does this fit into emotional intelligence? Many successful people have a twinkle in their eyes. They often are able to laugh good-naturedly with others and will often laugh at themselves. However, humour is one of those characteristics that so easily can turn from “feel good” to “feel bad.”

There are so many wonderful things about Jennifer Kolari’s book “Connected Parenting” that I hardly know where to begin.

Kolari understands that even when parents feel despair, overwhelmed, angry or feel guilty because they no longer like their child, that these feelings are just a mask for fear and confusion. Kolari never blames parents who have lost their way and find themselves in a vortex of negativity.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a person’s ability to identify, organize and act on their feelings and the feelings of others in a healthy and productive way. Does increasing an individual’s emotional intelligence correlate to a higher probability of long-term personal success and happiness?

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 [...]