Adults MUST Take Bullying Seriously. Too often we see bullying as a fact of life that will harmlessly pass. “Sure, it’s no fun”, we tell ourselves, “but kids are tough, they can handle it”. My Response: Some kids can handle it and some kids cannot. It Depends. --It depends on the temperament of the child being bullied. --It depends on the bullied child’s relationship with his/her parents and the emotional healthiness of their family. --It depends on the severity and frequency of the bullying. --It depends on the child’s social support system of peers. --It depends on a number of important fac ..read more

Do you have a difficult relationship with your son’s or daughter’s spouse? Conflict between married couples and their parents have occurred since Adam and Eve became in-laws. It is a delicate balancing act when a grown child marries and must address the wishes of both his/her spouse and parents. What can in-laws do to create an emotionally healthy relationship with their married child and their spouse? In this article, we will discuss 3 suggestions to be a helpful and supportive in-law. Many in-law relationships are loving and harmonious. Others experience varying degrees of conflict. Problem ..read more

Being thankful is a reflection of gratitude and appreciation. As parents, we want our kids to be grateful for the blessings they enjoy. Let’s talk about 4 ways you can help increase gratitude and thankfulness in your child. This is Thanksgiving week, a time where we place great emphasis on being thankful. The day after Thanksgiving begins the Christmas season. The ideals of gratitude and thankfulness can be quickly replaced by a focus on the crass materialism of the Christmas season. What Can We Do To Ensure the Values of Thanksgiving Have a Lasting Effect On Us and Our Children? First, belie ..read more

We are living in times of high anxiety. School shootings, kidnappings, human trafficking, warring political parties, and the like have a majority of parents and their children constantly on edge. What is a parent to do? Here are five suggestions you can use as a parent to help combat anxiety in your child and yourself. A recent survey [1] found that more than six out of ten children (ages 7-18) report experiencing symptoms of anxiety. The anxiety was usually expressed in the form of unreasonable anger or irritability but also included symptoms of being out of control. Many parents reported th ..read more

Want to know the secret to greater marital and family harmony and happiness? Communicate! But it’s not just any communication. Read on to discover four essential secrets to excellent marital and family communication. Dr. John Gottman of the Gottman Institute has spent his life analyzing what makes successful marriages and families. His conclusion? Good COMMUNICATION. Gottman is credited with identifying four key communication mistakes, which he aptly named the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He found that habitually engaging in these four styles of negative communication doomed most couples ..read more

It’s an age-old battle. The more years you and your spouse are married the harder it can be to feel emotionally close and intimate with them. One reason: Over time, the daily routine of life can cause us to take our spouse and our marriage for granted. Read on for 5 surefire ways to increase closeness with your spouse. And a little-known hormone we all possess is a key to it all. ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’. Translation: The more time you spend with a person the easier it becomes to feel a lack of emotional connection with that person. This happens due to factors like the same old routine m ..read more

A recent headline screamed: 'Third Of Americans Admit Ending A Relationship Over Household Chores' The story found its way to all forms of social media, including Facebook. Within hours, husbands all across America were posting responses like, “This is proof men should not help with household chores.” “Husbands not doing housework is the way God intended it!”. I imagine many unappreciated and overworked wives who read the article felt a little more discouraged. Discouraged because like their husbands they, too, work a 40-hour-a-week job outside the home. But unlike their husbands, they work a ..read more

Words are powerful. A parent’s words to their child are especially powerful. When asked, daughters said these 6 assurances are what they need to hear from their dads. Fathers, listen up. Having raised both a son and a daughter I can tell you - the father-daughter relationship is unique. As with most males and females, boys tend to be oriented towards the physical, and girls toward the emotional. In my experience daughters value feelings and emotions over physical activity like roughhousing and racing bikes. Yes, there are exceptions to this generalization. And more physically oriented daughte ..read more

Empathy: What is it and why is it so important? Let me make you a guarantee: Empathy will make you a better spouse, parent and friend. Empathy is 'the ability to understand and share in the feelings of another person'. It can be maddening when our loved ones fail to understand what we are feeling – especially in stressful and difficult situations. Conversely, it is comforting and reassuring when they DO understand what we are experiencing and feeling in difficult times. Feeling understood makes us feel less alone and more supported when we most need it. Not feeling understood might be compare ..read more

“I don’t love you any more” is a cop out. If you treat love as a decision, instead of an emotion, you can avoid ever having to hear these words in your marriage. Did you know there is a way to keep your love for your spouse from dying? Did you know that even if your love does die there is a way to rekindle it?! STOP Viewing Love As a Feeling! Somewhere, everyday, a spouse utters the words, “I don’t love you anymore. I want a divorce.” The belief that love can vanish into thin air is a lie. What this statement really says is, "I don't FEEL feelings of love for you at this time". Feelings are u ..read more