Be down with down time.  There is so much structure and rushing around during the school year.  Allow summer to include some down time for your children. Make family time.  Summer is a great opportunity to create some family time.  Do something together as a family.  Take a bike ride, go to the beach, or play a game at home together. Encourage reading time.  Summer reading is one of the best ways to continue learning and avoid losing skills over the summer.  Reading to your children or having them read on their own is important.  Allow them to choose the reading materials they enjoy.  Most local libraries or your child's school provide a fun summer reading program.  Participate in this program to encourage reading throughout [...]

School is out for the summer and everyone is ready for a much needed break.  During the school months, getting children up and out of the house on time, getting homework done, and so on is hectic.  Summer can be a welcomed and valuable break from these struggles, but of course has its own challenges and opportunities. Summer is a great time for family activities.  It is beneficial to have at least one activity in which family members are together.  Family activities can increase a child's psychological and behavioral well-being.  Focus on any activity that allows family members to engage with each other.  The activity does not need to be expensive or over the top thrilling to gain the benefit.  Go to a sporting event, [...]

You love your children and often enjoy their lively and silly presence.  Sometimes, however, they can exhibit annoying behaviors.   If you could only get rid of some of these irritating habits, maybe life would be a little easier at home. Contrary to what most people think, the child is not being manipulative, mean, or anything quite like that.  Oppositional and annoying behaviors emerge as a part of normal development for many children.  They usually drop out as the child get's older.  However, how others (especially parents) react and respond to these behaviors when they happen can cause an increase in them. Reprimands, threats, other punishments are not very likely to change annoying behaviors.  One comment we are all guilty of using, "If I told [...]

The New Year can be a time for new beginnings.  For many of us, it is a time to resolve to do something differently.  New Year's resolutions can be quite important because they can affect mental and physical health, social relations, and our satisfaction with life.  You might be thinking about resolving to exercise more, help others, or spend more time with your children.  Although the idea of making resolutions is serious and intentional, they sometimes thought of as silly and are rarely kept beyond January.  The problem is how we go about sticking to them.  To increase the chance of success, resolutions should be made in very small increments toward a goal.  The increments should be defined clearly and monitored in some way. One [...]

The Child First Principle Divorce and separation raises scores of challenges for parents and children.  Also, situations can vary greatly from one family to the next.  There are, however, some things you can do to make the process less stressful on your family.  If your interactions with your former spouse or partner are all pleasant, then there may be fewer issues.  If there is any conflict, first and foremost be guided by the child first principle.  That means, ask yourself whether what you are doing at the moment and in the presence of your child is primarily in your own interest or in your child's interest.  A conflict or argument that is heated may be addressing an important issue, but is likely to have a [...]

Every new school year presents new challenges.  One of the biggest and most dreaded is homework.  Homework doesn't have to be a fight.  Here are some tips to help get you and your child off to a happy homework place this year. Establish a distraction free zone to do homework. Choose and stick to an approximate start time. Have proper materials and let your child choose them. Use a teacher involved daily assignment sheet. Stay calm and be specific when you are telling your child to start homework. Praise your child's efforts before correcting mistakes. Take a break if things get heated. Set up a plan to reinforce homework if it is difficult, your child can earn small rewards or privleges for doing it calmly [...]