My daughter taught me something about temperament in the first minute of her life. She was born on Thanksgiving Day, with meconium stuck in her throat. Meconium is a goopy material that can prevent children from breathing. It obviously
Labeling is a powerful coping strategy. Studies show that labeling a negative emotion helps you to regulate (that is, calm down), while labeling a positive emotion reinforces it.
I have a few parenting moments I’d really like back. For example, there’s the time I found my five-year-old playing with matches. Furious and concerned about what could have happened, I wanted to show her the danger of fire.
My tenth-grade daughter recently told me she loved reading My Ántonia, by Willa Cather. I texted her asking her why she loved this book. Here’s what she wrote back: I loved My Ántonia because it’s like nothing I’ve ever
Five years ago, Google executives were curious: Why did some Google teams perform well, while others stumbled? They hoped, by getting to the bottom of this question, to improve team performance and thus further boost the company’s already impressive achievements.
Quick, fill in the blank in this sentence: “I am a ________________.” I’ll show you what I mean by sharing my results: “I am a husband, father, son, brother, Christian, entrepreneur, reader, writer, cook, and musician.” Try it. Self-concepts influence
There’s a paradox at the heart of reading. It’s one that children can help solve when they’re three or four, if you let them lead the way. The paradox is this: The most important determinant of your child’s reading
Imagine two parents, Jenny and Elena. They’re similar in many ways. They both have four-year-olds. They both want to help their children get ready for kindergarten. They both read to their children every night. But there’s a difference: Jenny and
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” — James Baldwin I have a radical idea for you today. If your child comes to you asking to play
Conversation is at the heart of learning for preschoolers and books are a wonderful trigger for conversation. Here are some of my best ideas for using books as a starting point, but there’s no need to remember or use
It’s not teaching your child new words. Or helping her sound out unfamiliar ones. Or choosing the right books. Or asking lots of questions. No, the most important thing to do when reading aloud to your preschooler is: tell
The average American parent would like their teen child to spend an hour and 15 minutes per day reading for pleasure (compared to an hour playing sports and 35 minutes watching TV). In reality, the average American teenager spends
When your child asks you a difficult question, you have a chance to show your child that not knowing things is normal, and curiosity is a beautiful thing.
