As parents, we do our best to keep our children healthy and safe. We buckle up their seatbelts, tell them to wash their hands before dinner, and to eat their fruits and vegetables. Yet, childhood poisonings occur every day across the globe. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, one hundred children…
While you don’t want to be a high-strung parent who is paranoid of danger lurking behind every corner, it is critical to your child’s safety and well-being that you educate yourself about your house’s danger zones. It’s a good idea to go through your home every few months and evaluate…
Young, wild, and free … isn’t that what it’s supposed to feel like to be a teenager? While it’s normal for teens to push and discover their limits, it’s also dangerous. Due in large part to the fact that parenting decisions are only as sound as the information on which…
One of the first things you have to figure out when you realize that you want to stay home with your kids is whether or not you can afford to do so. You are probably used to living on two incomes, so making the switch to a single income may…
Separation is a challenging time for many parents because it is an adjustment to a new way of life. There are both positive and negative factors to separation and the corresponding changes, but one of the issues that can arise is the differences that parents may have in the ways…
When it comes to our children’s happiness, less is more. That’s the surprising perspective of one Chicago psychologist concerned about the rising rates of youth depression and anxiety. “Millions of well-intentioned parents have made life harder for their children by shielding the kids from every kind of unhappiness,” according to…
Child discipline and logical consequences demand you learn to think before you act. You take the time you need. You get your feelings under control. You come up with a simple plan. You execute that plan. When kids are careless, rage can explode and it can feel great. Later shame…
Shortly after having my first baby, I decided I was going to be the perfect parent. I immediately began to keep an intelligent library of child-rearing books on my nightstand and would replenish the stock as each book was absorbed into my sub-consciousness and checked off the “read” list. My…
Have you ever felt a deep pang of irritation at something involving your spouse? Has that irritation progressed to a gnawing anger that you harbor for days, months, even years? Welcome to the world of spousal resentment. Luckily, you don’t have to stay angry forever. Dictionary.com defines resentment as “the…
Raising your children is the most important task you and your partner will ever share. As parents, you have the responsibility of making decisions about your children’s education, healthcare, and countless other vital aspects of life. Parents don’t always agree on how to raise their kids, and this can sometimes…