A few weeks ago, I posted a segment about spanking that ran on Good Morning America. It reminded me of another article I contributed to earlier this summer. Yolanda Sangweni, a writer from Essence.com, reached out to me and asked if I would help a couple who disagreed about discipline. Mom spanks, Dad doesn’t. Read my advice to the Conrads below. Continue reading
Tagged as:
Discipline,
marriage,
spanking
As parents, we want our children to be healthy and safe, but we also want them to be happy. Ironically, our wish for their happiness can sometimes get in the way of our really listening. We put in our emotional earplugs and hope that a child’s complaints just go away. Continue reading
Tagged as:
anxiety,
Emotional Development,
listening
If you’re expecting baby number two (or three or four), it’s natural to be concerned about your first-born’s reactions to the new addition. You might be tempted to grease the wheels of sibling bonding by promoting the new baby as your big kid's "new best friend." Or you might think it wise to ask big brother or sister to help pick out names or to decorate the nursery. Not a good idea, says Beth Grosshans, Ph.D., author of Beyond Time-out: From Chaos to Calm, who recently appeared on my show to talk about welcoming a sibling. Continue reading
Tagged as:
baby,
big brother,
big sister,
Pregnancy,
sibling rivalry

Ah, the holidays. A time for celebration, festivities with loved ones, beautiful decorations…and trying to convince your child to eat alien foods in front of an audience of judgmental family members. Parenting a finicky eater this time of year can be especially challenging, but there are ways to make your family’s food struggle a little easier to digest. Click
here for my advice.
Tagged as:
family meals,
Food,
holidays,
picky eaters,
video
Give yourself credit for small acts of caring.
My to-do list has amazing regenerative powers. For each "to-do" I slash off, two more magically appear in its place. But whenever I have a day that feels particularly unproductive, I take a second to remember Lego Man’s hair. Yes, you read that right: I’m talking about the tiny piece of plastic that fits on Lego figures’ heads. I call this to mind because of an incident that happened a few years ago on a not-so-wonderful day. Continue reading
Tagged as:
appreciation,
chores,
elementary school,
giving thanks,
kindergarteners,
motherhood,
preschoolers,
to-do list