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by Ellen Rosenberg. There are many parents who would never imagine that their child doesn't have the nerve to talk with them. When I first created my school programs more than twenty years ago, I was amazed
at how many thousands of children told me they felt this way and hadn't let
their parents know. How close do you think your child feels to you? Being close with your child can be a life-changing, fulfilling, enriching lifetime endeavor. I can't think of a more important role as a parent.
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by Susan Gingras Fitzell. It is possible to eliminate war and destruction, if we start with our youth,
educating them to understand the conditioning that teaches them to hate those
different from themselves. If we teach our children to understand the barriers
to peace and the skills to resolve conflict, we have invested in our future.
We've invested in a peaceful world. We need to start somewhere. We can begin in
our homes and our schools. Plant the seed, nurture it and watch it grow.
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by Louise Frechette. How you ask your children to listen, and what you choose to see in them will help determine their response to you. Don't allow your ego to make you feel guilty for not doing it perfectly. The myth of the perfect parent is as much a myth as that of the perfect child. What we need to stop thinking is that the monumental task of parenting and educating our children is solely in our hands. It isn't. It's a joint venture, a sacred trust between ourselves, our children, and God.
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by Diane and Julia Loomans. The desire to make a dream come true has been a part of cultures throughout history. The ancient Peruvians drew their goals in symbols. The Egyptians created elaborate rituals to move from desire to actualization. Here are a few simple steps to follow to help your child (& yourself) set goals successfully...
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by Lucia
Capacchione. The first
few days of a baby's life can bring a deeply spiritual opening between parent
and child. The sheer mystery of birth and the vulnerability of this tiny being
you hold in your arms are truly awe-inspiring. Many mothers and fathers have
told me that they had no way to predict the powerful emotions that poured forth
during those first days of parenting. In some cultures, the time immediately
following birth is sacred and protected for both mother and child.
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by Alfie Kohn. The interesting question is whether those of us who were successful students achieved this success by memorizing an enormous number of words without necessarily understanding them or caring about them. Might we have spent a good chunk of our childhoods doing stuff that was exactly as pointless as we suspected it was at the time?
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by Sonia Choquette. A common childhood fear is fear of the dark. Many children become terrified of the dark and can't go to sleep in a darkened room alone, convinced the "bogeyman" or some other night creature is waiting in the shadows to get them. I had a client whose son was terrified of the dark. He was a perfectly
adventurous child during the day, extremely outgoing and interested in
discovering new things, but come nighttime he would fall apart, begging not to
be left alone.
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by Jack Heinowitz, Ph.D. It's pretty hard dealing with the idea of really being a father. Scary feelings come up about accepting it, getting involved, learning what to do and how to participate in family life. The commitment part is a heavy thing for me right now. The dramatic lifestyle changes that accompany the entry into fatherhood bring
up fears of all sorts.
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by Francesca Cappucci Fordyce. Just because a father lives at home, does not mean he is available to his son or daughter. Fathers often overbusy themselves, so they don't have to deal with their own responsibility and subliminal pain from their childhood. A parent has to resolve his own issues before he can completely be present and
mindful of his children.
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by Alina Guiterrez. The most important job a person can have is to
teach another. Educators have a great responsibility toward those they teach,
because everything they do and say has a lifelong impact upon their students.
For this reason, it is very important that the children and youth be empowered
by allowing them to make their own decisions, within a set structure, and
teaching them how to accept the outcomes of those decisions. It is imperative that children know that their opinions matter and that they, even at their young age, have something positive to offer to others.
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by Samuel Osherson, Ph.D. We all know that it's best to avoid getting into
control struggles with our kids -- battles over going to bed on time, cleaning
up rooms, getting homework done, completing college applications when they're
due. Yet power struggles are not so easy to avoid. What parent doesn't at times
feel locked in a battle in which no one wins and no one surrenders?
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by Denis Donavan, M.D., M.ED., and
Deborah McIntyre. Many parents today will tell you
that they're not getting what they want from their children. Parents have to
struggle to get the respect, cooperation, affection, acceptable behavior,
completed tasks, and academic achievement they consider appropriate. Quite a few
parents have actually thrown in the towel. By contrast... we believe that many frustrating and seemingly insurmountable problems actually
have simple, easy to understand causes, as well as equally simple and easy to
understand solutions.
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Parenting 
