Helping Your Kids Make Friends

“The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.” (Voltaire)   Watching our kids struggle with friendships is one of the hardest parts of parenting. That’s why I specifically address the topic in each of the editions of our new Choose Your Own Adulthood Online Platform. I cannot urge you strongly enough to check […]

Is courtesy on death row?

I went to a baseball game recently, and my seat was on the aisle. While this was convenient when I wanted food or drink, it also meant I was the de facto doorkeeper to…

Don’t Take Credit

If you’re like me, you’ve already seen some extended family this summer.

Here’s a challenge for us all: When family and friends marvel at our kids’ growth…

Santa’s gonna make you behave!

You may not know it, but today is actually Saint Nicholas Day. In honor of that saintly Turkish Bishop of the 4th century, let’s look at how terribly we use him to make up for our lazy parenting.

Feelings matter more than facts.

My 19yo daughter is working her tail off as a full-time nanny this summer. She’s also taking babysitting jobs on the weekends. While I love this fantastic form of birth control for her, it can be exhausting work.

Sometimes it can even be a little frightening. The other night, as the clock neared 10pm, she reached out and told me that for whatever reason, she was feeling scared for herself and the sleeping kids. “I know it’s not true, but sometimes it kinda feels like I’m in a horror movie!”

Terror in Our Homes

I know it sounds foolish, but I honestly believe for most of us, we are more scared of those in our own homes than even the most evil terrorists in the world. This is not because the terrorists aren’t terrifying. It’s because for the vast majority of us, they aren’t terribly close. The chances of […]

Questions for the Summer

Last week I asked you guys to let us know your anxieties about this summer. We were amazed at the response! So many of you wrote in, speaking of both your hopes and fears for these next few months. What we loved most was the variety of your concerns.

Lab ‘Rent

A well-meaning friend confessed to me recently that he was somewhat concerned about my kids. He doesn’t know them, but after hearing what I do, he admitted: “Hal, sometimes I envision your house, and if we took the top off and looked inside, we’d see your kids as little mice in some parenting laboratory.”

Summer Vacation, Part 2: What Does That Even Look Like?

Summertime can be the perfect respite to balance out a year of hard work and academic achievement. As I mentioned yesterday, when I was a child I thought of school as my job. The summer break, therefore, was my vacation time. But it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Three whole months […]

Summer Vacation, Part 1: To Veg or Not to Veg

Awwww…summer. It’s my favorite season. It’s been that way my entire life. There’s so much to do! As a kid, just the simple act of going outside to play can be a complete game-changer. Add in a significant amount of uninterrupted free time in which to do said playing, and you have yourself a whole […]