As I always say, anxiety is a B@%#! Anxiety when you’re a parent? If you know, you know? As a lifelong anxiety struggler, I’ve worked hard to get my anxiety under control. But here’s the thing, even though I’ve learned how to manage it, it’s still there, always lurking in the background. It’s an extra…
When our kids melt down or have tantrums, we tend to, well, freak out ourselves. Angry thoughts pop into our head, our heart starts to race, and our palms get sweaty. As a result, we tend to react in these situations, rather than respond purposefully – and we unintentionally make things worse by adding fuel to the…
Summer colds are annoying. I’ve been home the last three weeks with a cold virus I can’t seem to kick. It’s frustrating to sit on my tushy for days on end, and to have lots of “at-home” time with very little to show for it. As a result, I’ve been spending a lot of time…
I recently wrote a blog about how we parents tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to create a “perfect” summer for our kids. But what does perfect look like? Who defines “perfect?” Are we terrible parents if we don’t fill our kids’ summer with long beach days, trips to the water park…
If I had a dollar for every time my kids snarkily asked me, “Aren’t you a parent coach?” I’d be sipping wine in Italy right now. Salute! Yes, I am a parent coach. And yes, I am also an imperfect parent. And the beauty of what I do is that both truths can exist harmoniously….
This is how I started my response in a local moms Facebook group, the second time in a week I was moved to respond to a post.In this case, a mother was seeking advice for consequences for her 14-year-old daughter, who was failing her classes and spending a lot of time on her phone. She…
Your child has thrown themself on the dirty ground, screaming incoherently, in the middle of the food court. It’s official – this is your child’s public meltdown mode. Your first thought, “OH S*@$! PEOPLE ARE WATCHING.” Suddenly it feels like everyone in the food court has stopped in their tracks to watch the public display…
Keep it simple, stupid. Welcome to my 2022 motto! (And its sibling, “Good Enough.”) I excel in overthinking (that could be the understatement of the year – LOL). Whether I’m overthinking something I said, a social media post, or even what to serve for dinner, being an overthinker can be painful. Not just for me,…
Divorce itself isn’t the reason kids suffer. As a child of divorce, I saw first-hand the damage divorce does to a family. But it’s not the separated homes that cause the problem. The real suffering from a divorce stems from parents not being able to continue nurturing their children’s sense of connection, belonging, and significance….
❔ What was your relationship like with your parents growing up?❔ What do you wish your parents had done differently? These are questions I recently posed to a father on a consult call. The answer wasn’t pretty. His father’s parenting style focused on compliance over relationship, with a set of strict rules and punishments that…
