The Blog
Our best advice when it’s tough with kids:breathe, laugh, dance, sing, hug, call a friend. Be gentle with yourself, you’re not done growing up yet. This won’t last and you are not alone.
Helping Kids Play Well Together
Last time on the blog, we talked about what you can do to help kids reconnect after a blow-up… without forcing them to apologize to each other. You got 6-steps and mini-scripts for how to calm everyone down, help kids understand each other’s perspective, and come up...
Making Kids Apologize
As a parent, what do you want your kids to do after they fight? Most of us want them to reconnect with each other and apologize, right? But… What if they don’t want to apologize? Do you make them say “sorry” even if they don’t mean it? If they still feel mad, do you...
Raising Resilient Kids
Do you ever find yourself thinking, “There’s so much I want for my kids… to be happy, do well in school, have friends, be resilient. But where do I start? What are the most important things to focus on?” When kids are struggling (with bedtime, homework, playing with...
When a Child Says “No” with Dr. Dan Siegel
Did you know that there are 2 basic states our brain could be in? And I’m not talking about Montana or New Jersey! One state is “fight or flight”; the other is “open, connected, and resilient”. We talked to Dr. Daniel Siegel about these 2 different brain states....
Staying Calm Under Pressure
The following guest post is from our friend, Michelle Gale. She is a Happily Family Conference speaker, and she is letting us get an insider’s peek into her new book. Here is an excerpt from “Mindful Parenting In A Messy World – Living With Presence And Parenting With...
What question NOT to ask a child
Whether you live with kids or work with them, at some point you’ve thought to yourself, “How do I get this child to… ...turn of the screen, ...stop screaming at her brother, ...get his work done, ...take the trash out?" We recently talked to Heather Forbes author of...
Preventing problems with kids before they begin
Everyone has heard the saying that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” But especially if you have kids in your life, an ounce of prevention is like having super powers. Whether you are a parent or a professional, one of the ways we can be MOST effective...
5 Ways to Connect with Challenging Children
We asked a group of professionals what they struggle with, in their work with children. Can you relate to these too? Getting children to slow down and listen Not taking frustration, disappointment, and stress home at the end of the day Parent support...many parents...
Empathy when a child is angry or rude
Recently we got an email from a parent who asked…. How do I respond with empathy when my child doesn’t do what I asked unless I get mad, answers me rudely by saying, “Fine!”, or is so angry that he puts his fists up to my face? As a compassionate parent, there are 3...