Parenting Blog

"When we experience a sense of gratitude, we give ourselves a dose of mental sunshine.  Suddenly the world seems brighter, and we have more options.  And the greatest thing is that as we experience the mental sunshine of gratitude, we begin to glow with sunshine ourselves.  Suddenly not only is the world brighter, but we are too.  Soon we notice that our lives are full of people who want to be around us because we exude peacefulness, happiness, and joy." -- M.J. Ryan  READ POST

“We're not grateful because we're happy. We're happy because we're grateful.” - Brother David Stendl-Rast

"If the only prayer you said in your life was 'THANK YOU,'  that would suffice." -- Meister Eckhart

Every spiritual tradition has a practice of gratitude.  Not just for some presumed spiritual or ethical benefit, but because it works. The heartfelt expression of gratitude lifts us out of the mind’s usual restless feeling of “not enough” into the joy of sufficiency.  We open ourselves to take in the blessings that surround us.  READ POST

"It's especially important during the holidays to remember that aiming for a PERFECT holiday ritual is actually a bad goal. Not only is perfection impossible and striving for it adds stress, but honestly, the holidays families remember most fondly are those when the dog ate the cake, or everybody got the flu on Thanksgiving. Play it loose, have a sense of humor..." -- Meg Cox  READ POST

Last week, I was interviewed by Jessica Williams of Love Parenting about healthy attachment as kids move beyond the baby stage, and how empathy keeps us close to our child, even as we're setting limits.  This interview was the launch of an extensive project that Jessica is calling  The Ultimate Parenting Course.  READ POST

"When we acknowledge our children’s right to want things, as well as their right to be upset when they can’t have what they want, it goes a long way toward defusing their anger and the tantrums that occur as a result.”  -- Nancy Samalin

The part of NO that our kids don't understand is the part where we make them feel bad about themselves and what they want, instead of just saying NO to the behavior.  READ POST

"Instead of resisting any emotion, the best way to dispel it is to enter it fully, embrace it and see through your resistance." - Deepak Chopra

"Today I will let myself feel what I am feeling and let my children feel what they are feeling....I'll pay attention to what each of us is feeling and give those feelings some respect and space. There's nothing so bad about them; they are only feelings and need not threaten me." -- Tian Dayton

Are your feelings dangerous?  Never.  But most of us are afraid of our strong feelings.  And we're afraid of our children's feelings. Why?  READ POST

"Odd as it may seem, children who hit are children who are afraid. The fears that cause trouble for a child who hits usually have their roots in some frightening experience earlier in her life, even though she may not seem frightened at all. To manage her fear, the frightened child develops aggressive behavior that flares any time she feels tense. Instead of crying or saying she feels scared when her fears are triggered, she tightens up, can’t ask for help, and lashes out." -- Patty Wipfler

It's not so easy to feel love in the face of aggression.  We may know intellectually that our child is lashing out because she's overwhelmed or scared, but we still move into "fight or flight" because we feel like it's an emergency.  READ POST