Want to hear some good news?

Parity is here….Finally!  Lost among all the terrible financial news was a piece fantastic legislation that will help over 113 million people. President Bush signed a mental health parity law that was included in the economic bailout bill which passed on Friday.  This bill was the result of 12 years of passionate advocacy to get equal insurance benefits for mental …

Rescue Me!

My daughter started Kindergarten last month.  I must admit the idea of 35 hours away from Mom and Dad at the local public school was daunting…for her parents.  Although I think it a bit ridiculous that 5 year olds go to school from 8am to 3pm each day – this is a perfect time of year to remind …

Summer Camp

Whatever happened to summer camp being a time for children to develop and cultivate independence and resilience?  This piece by Tina Kelley is astounding because of its absurdity.  It’s come to this?  Camps are now forced to hire parent liaisons to act like a hotel concierge service in order to keep parents happy.

Professor Pausch

We can learn an awful lot about how to be a great parent or better yet a better human being from Randy Pausch. He died July 25 at age 47 leaving behind his wife and 3 young children.  Listening to his lecture or reading his book has changed the priorities and the lives of many parents.

The Secret to Your Child’s Academic and Life Success

Why is it that some kids grow up to be successful, fulfilled adults in challenging careers and healthy relationships while other kids from similar backgrounds and academic performance struggle mightily as adults?  A family or a school that focuses solely upon an academic education produces children who are ill-equipped for the future.  We must do …

Good News

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that “risky” teen behaviors have reached record lows.  The CDC surveyed 14,000 Ninth to 12th-graders which it does every two years since 1991.  In 2007 smoking tobacco or marijuana, not wearing seat belts, and being sexually active neared or reached record lows.  The numbers were especially encouraging when it …

Cinderella

I plan to do a lot more dancing before the clock strikes midnight!  Great song from my favorite singer/songwriter.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLYxtuC0oRk

Social Bullying

One of the most damaging experiences of adolescence is what psychologists term relational victimization or simply ‘social bullying’.  While most schools profess to have a zero tolerance policy toward physical bullying many are failing to address social bullying.  Granted this type of bullying is considerably more difficult to pinpoint and detect.  With the explosion of technology, …