Teach Your Children Well

One of the many reasons that it’s important to have dinner with your child most nights of the week is that this is a great time to discuss issues. Research shows that parents who encourage their kids to think about how people feel in different situations help kids become more empathic and more moral.

However, when difficult material presents itself, the performance-oriented kids do poorly, while the mastery-oriented kids do well. The best way we can help our children welcome challenges is to encourage them to work just outside their comfort zone, stand by to lend a hand when needed,

A Good Work Ethic “I’m going to keep at it” instead of “I quit” There is a consistency to the questions I field from parents who are disappointed by their child’s grades. “My kid is really smart but just doesn’t care about school. What can I do?” “My kid is really smart but cares more about her friends than her grades. What can I do?” “My kid is re

No parent should tolerate what has become a culturally normalized form of child abuse—sleep deprivation, repetitive stress injuries from early and excessive athletics, overwhelming academic stress, and a complete disregard for the known protective factors of child development.

When my kids were little, river rafting and camping became our yearly vacation ritual. I was a born-and-bred New York City girl who believed that participating in the great outdoors meant putting the screens on the windows in the summer.

Carol Dweck’s concept of fixed versus growth mind-sets. At any given Mensa meeting of extremely high-IQ individuals you will find professors, surgeons, researchers, engineers, cops, firefighters, cooks, cabdrivers,

Sleep restores us physically, emotionally, and cognitively. It should be at the top of our list of parenting priorities.

But David Elkind, the godfather (well, actually the maven) of healthy child development, says that children of this age should, at most, have three extracurricular activities—one social (Scouting, church or synagogue youth program), one physical (Little League, dance), and one artistic (piano lessons, drawing).

PROVIDE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR CHILD TO PRACTICE EMPATHIC BEHAVIOR Whenever practical, take your child with you when you’re involved in community service. Donating or sorting clothes, cooking or delivering meals, visiting the elderly or the needy are all opportunities for your children to learn that thinking past their own needs is a good