Welcome mistakes, be friendly with error
“Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment,” read the sign in the gift shop. The sign reminded me of what I’ve learned about errors: since mistakes are at the...
View ArticleHow setting limits creates freedom, allows creativity
At a neighborhood coffee, Cheryl announced that she had stopped eating sugar. Several women gasped at the thought. “But that’s so limiting,” said one. Cheryl smiled and said, “Actually I find the...
View ArticleWhy it’s important to establish routines with children
August 14, 2012 - Establishing routines with our children is an effective and powerful way to set boundaries. Setting limits helps our children feel safe, and allows them the freedom to focus on skill...
View ArticleWhen we belong, we’re important
October 17, 2012 - We all need to feel like we belong. And the most important place we need to feel like we belong is in our families. It is from our family relationships that we build relationships...
View ArticleWhen life seems out of control, take baby steps
(December 3, 2012) One of my go-to comedies, a movie that never fails to make me laugh and always helps me have an attitude adjustment, is What About Bob? with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. The...
View ArticleLet the sunshine in
(March 15, 2013) How much of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D3, do we need to maintain optimum health? The major biological function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and...
View ArticleAvoid the Sugar Blues
(March 15, 2013) When we first got married, my husband’s habit was to drink a 16-ounce glass of orange juice for breakfast. To that we added pancakes with maple syrup. During my honeymoon year I...
View ArticleBetter trickles down
(March 10, 2013) As we learn and grow interesting events occur. Others around us grow and learn. We position ourselves to help others through our newfound knowledge and skills. One of my friends when...
View ArticlePull an art box out of your art
May 27, 2013 - “I’m so bored. There’s nothing to do.” The-Rainy-Day-It’s-Too-Hot-Summer-Blahs. Every year the blahs hit, and every year parents and grandparents wish they were more prepared. Get...
View ArticleAdd a little drama
May 27, 2013 - Summer is just about upon us and ideas for vacation fun can start to run low after a couple of weeks. One of our perennial favorites for serious merriment is the drama box. Our drama box...
View ArticleRelight the candle
Five-year-old Tommy walked over to his mother, Judy. ‘Write my name for me, Mommy.” “Tommy, you know how to write your name.” “But I don’t ‘member,” he said. Tommy’s mother, Judy, phoned me, near...
View ArticleTips for helping toddlers transition
(January 1, 2014) “But, Daddy, I don’t want to go!” Moving from one event to another are difficult parenting and teaching situations. Our children are involved and concentrating on an activity, then...
View ArticleYakety yak, don’t talk back…
(May 22, 2014) “You can’t talk to me that way, young man!” As the words came out of her mouth, Jane realized she was falling into the same trap…again. But how much can one take of, “You can’t make...
View ArticleThe heart of relationships: effective communication
June 25, 2014- To know who our children really are, we need to observe our children at work and play. J Krishnamurti, the Indian philosopher, wrote that the highest form of human intelligence is...
View ArticleCommunicating emotions
ROCKWALL,TX. (July 14, 2014) A long-term study of college students aimed to test their vocabularies while also asking the group to rate their level of happiness. The test subjects with the largest...
View ArticleDealing with interruptions from your child
Isn’t it amazing how quickly children interrupt when they hear you on the phone? We wait for that quiet minute to make an important call or task and, poof, our children appear with attention getting...
View ArticleOwning our emotions
ROCKWALL, TX. (July 28, 2014) Victor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning writes about our freedom residing in the space between stimulus and response. Your child hits you. Your freedom lies in the...
View ArticleListening to ourselves with compassion
ROCKWALL,TX. (September 7, 2014) When we do something that we wished we hadn’t, we rarely give ourselves the level of forgiveness and understanding that we give to others. If we evaluate ourselves and...
View ArticleSolving the reading aloud blues
ROCKWALL, TX. (September 29, 2014) Kitchen Scene: Mom and Dad are getting dinner ready after a busy day. Soccer practice is in 45 minutes. Enter six-year-old with book. “Mom! Dad! I have to read...
View ArticleHow singing helps in language and reading development
ROCKWALL,TX. (November 11, 2014) My earliest memory of reading is singing from the Baptist hymnal. I remember being four-and-a-half, standing next to my mother, moving my finger under each hyphenated...
View Article
