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Response+ability
All along, our greatest hope for your kids has been that they each become a “responsible” adult. I know, I know, every parent says that. But not every parent means it the way we at ScreamFree do. Most parents, when they say the word “responsible,” are trying to convey the idea of doing the right […]
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TBT: Boundless Love and Boundaries
“Eating everything you want is not that much fun. When you live a life with no boundaries, there’s less joy. If you can eat anything you want, what’s the fun in eating anything you want to?” (Tom Hanks) Hanks spoke these words in an interview for Esquire magazine. They were discussing how some movie roles […]
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Respond More, React Less
In our era of instant electronic connection, people are freaking out more than ever. Quick, unthoughtful, cruel tweets. Trolls online, filling up comments pages with instant negativity. Couples breaking up because one of ‘em took too long to reply to a text. (She hasn’t texted me back, and it’s been over 20 minutes! She must […]
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Emerging Adults?
One prominent researcher says that we are witnessing the discovery of a new life phase, that of the “emerging adult.” After adolescence, this guy says, our kids will not become young adults when they turn 20. No, they will then become emerging adults. They won’t become “young adults” until the ripe old age of 30. […]
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Be a Decider
“When faced with two equally tough choices, most people choose the third choice: to not choose.” (Jarod Kintz, This Book Title is Invisible) A little known practice of successful people is that they don’t allow themselves to be paralyzed by the need for more and more information before they make a decision. Successful people have […]
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TBT: Imitation Parenting
“Children are natural mimics; they act like their parents in spite of every effort to teach them good manners.” (Author unknown) Kids are more absorbent than we’ll ever know, even thought it seems like just the opposite is true. They watch us with eyes and hearts that simply do not forget. The things that we […]
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Playing With Fire
“There is no such thing as safe sex. There never will be.” (Norman Mailer) For a long time, I’ve thought the best metaphor for human sexuality is that of fire. In and of itself, fire is essentially good, and a necessary element for human survival. In the right context, within the proper constraints, it cooks […]
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Be More Interested
“Most people do not listen in order to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” (Steven R. Covey) My mentor Bill took an interest in people. While many people enter a room with a mentality that says, “Here I am!”, Bill seemed to always enter by finding you and claiming, “There you are!” And […]
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Risk More, Regret Less
“You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is.” (Will Rogers) Normally, when it comes to young people, the word “risk” is only used in a negative way. As in, “we don’t our teenagers engaged in risky behavior,” or “our community has far too many at-risk youth.” What all […]
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What NOT to Pack for College
“The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parent.” (Carl Jung) Tomorrow’s the day—I finally take my first child off to college. She’s been packing for a week, but there’s one burden I hope she leaves with me: my own unfulfilled dreams. It is tempting to pin our own hopes […]