“I need to figure out how to approach my kids differently when they are on their devices. The moment I see my kid on his phone, I tense up,” a parent recently shared. “What do you think is going on?” I asked. “I’m not sure. Maybe I can feel a battle coming,” she replied. Then… Read More →
There’s a small print hanging on the wall just outside our kitchen that says simply, “It’s okay to cry here.” I don’t necessarily need the reminder. I come from a family of cryers. If you’ve been lucky enough to see my dad speak, you know he can rarely get through a keynote or workshop without… Read More →
“Broken!” Miles exclaimed. “It’s broken!” he repeated, his frustration building. It took me a moment to catch on. My nearly three-year-old was standing in front of the TV, furiously trying to swipe at Daniel Tiger with his index finger. Then it clicked—he was trying to move the character like he would on a tablet. And… Read More →
“I wasn’t surprised that my kid looked at inappropriate content online. I know it comes with the territory,” a parent recently confided. “What upset me more is that he lied about it.” “This is always so tricky,” I sympathized. “We only see a little snapshot of what is going on. And it can be hard… Read More →
“But who is going to help her?” Jacob asked. Jacob was a seven-year-old we had just met on the playground. He, along with several other kids including one of my own, had been playing the tag game “Sandman” on the play structure. Suddenly one of the kids tried to take a shortcut off the side… Read More →
“There is nothing to do,” my youngest kid wailed again. In case we hadn’t heard he increased his volume when he repeated the word nothing. Then he scanned our home as if it were a barren wasteland. I glanced at him and within seconds could pick out any number of enjoyable activities he could try… Read More →
“Your turn!” one of my kids shouted to the other. I looked over to the kitchen table to see that they were engaged in one one of the many card games they had picked up at school. Buoyed by the warm glow of sibling cooperation, I turned to go upstairs. It turns out that the… Read More →
“I try to have a positive attitude about it and give him a fresh start,” a parent recently shared with me. “But it seems like every day there is a blow up when it’s time to stop gaming. It’s miserable.” “Ugh. That sounds so hard,” I responded picturing similar scenes playing out in my own… Read More →
