“On Saturday, I’m going to help with Camp Memories. I’m excited!” “What’s Camp Memories?” “It’s a day-long program for kids who have lost a loved one. It’s a great day.” “That doesn’t sound fun. That sounds sad. What do...
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What can we do when hope seems lost and family interactions become more reckless and chaotic? Do we give up? A mother and her teen daughter have a tense relationship. The daughter makes one poor decision after another. The mother is removing one privilege after another and has very little hope in h...
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What should I give up for Lent?  This is a question I would hear a lot from my children as we approached the Easter Season.  Often we would focus on candy, not talking back to your parent (my personal favorite) or an absence of computer gaming time.  I was always very proud of my kid...
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We’ve all had those moments, sitting at the dining room table, looking at our calendar and trying to figure out how we’re going to map everyone’s schedules for the week.  Practices, tutoring, homework; and then trying to figure out when and where we’re going to get all...
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Mornings in our house start off like races. The alarm clock is our cue to start the frenzy of waking children and packing lunches while trying to make ourselves presentable for our day.  When my children were toddlers, I worried about their sleep schedule endlessly.  Do they need one nap...
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Last fall I took my oldest child to her college freshman orientation at Indiana University, and a year from now I’ll be doing the same with my youngest.  During one of the parent sessions, they asked us to write letters to our children that would be mailed to their dorm room a few weeks...
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When I ask students what they are looking forward to most over the summer, almost  all of them – including pre-teens and teens – bring up a  family activity.  Family bonding, spending quality time with your children, has so many benefits for the family, including those fo...
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Parenting is difficult enough. Parenting with your spouse can be even more challenging, particularly when you disagree on discipline methods.   We recommend that you sit down together and discuss discipline philosophy.   Discipline means “to teach,” and should not be looked...
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With Thanksgiving here, time with family and friends to participate in ongoing family traditions is greatly anticipated. I enjoy baking the day before, and my entire family is together on Thanksgiving (at Christmas, busy schedules take us in different directions; so this togetherness means a lot)....
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