Why We Need to Unplug to Connect with Our Families
I’ve been following the trends and research about screen use and have long been an advocate of unplugging. I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of unplugging each summer at camp and have fought back in my own family to rescue us from being sucked into our screens 24/7. Yet I’ve still struggled with myself and my…
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Learning To Put My Own Oxygen Mask On First
Last week I did something unheard of during my first 32 years as a camp director. I took a full day off during the very first week of camp. On my day off, I did several things that “refueled” me: I took a long hike by myself. I took some long, deep breaths. I finished…
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11 Ways to Help Kids Create REAL Connections
A 75 year longitudinal study of adult development at Harvard Medical School had two main findings. Researchers George Vaillant and Sheldon Glueck determined that “good relationships”—not wealth or accolades or privilege—“keep us happier and healthier.” Their second, almost tongue-in-cheek finding was that “if alcoholism is not the root of all evil, it is closely correlated…
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10 Lessons for Parents Raising Children in a Digital World
Those of you who’ve been hanging around Sunshine Parenting for a while know how much I love to research and talk about the benefits of getting unplugged. Getting off our screens and more focused on face-to-face relationships is a topic I’m passionate about, especially as I’ve focused on how we can coach our kids to…
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Ep. 4: Giving Kids’ Phones a “Vacation”
“We want this party to be with all the girls being present and in the moment with their friends.” -Ashley, Parent Ashley’s Facebook post caught my attention – it was a photo of the text she had sent to the parents of the 22 (yes, you read that correctly, TWENTY-TWO!) girls invited to her…
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Thoughts on “Being 13”
“Most adolescents with access to smart phones are living their social lives online as much as they do face-to-face. Adults worry that teens are hooked on social media, but most have no idea what teens are actually doing online.” -Marion K. Underwood & Robert W. Faris, Being 13: Perils of Lurking on Social Media I…
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Good Things Come to Those Who Breathe
My 2016 ended with a bang – two trips to the ER on New Year’s Eve. My son needed a cast for a small buckle fracture in his arm from a snowboard crash (see Exhibit A), and we had a health scare with my dad that ended up being nothing serious. And that crazy evening…
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“SASHET”: A Connection Tool
I just returned from my favorite annual camp conference. Spending time with this group of camp owners and directors refocuses me and helps me get motivated for another summer of camp. These are the only people in the world who understand what I do “the rest of the year” and face the same challenges of balancing…
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Feeling Thankful
Today is Day 31 (the final day!) of my Happiness Hacks series. Oh my goodness. I did it! I actually wrote and posted a happiness hack every single day this month. Hooray! For those of you who joined me on this journey, thank you for coming along. I appreciate you taking time from your busy…
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Reading Binge
Today is Day 30 of my Happiness Hacks series. Few things make me happier than some uninterrupted reading time, and an inspirational book makes for an especially amazing reading binge. While there was quite a bit of background noise (TV, people talking, rain falling hard outside) this weekend at our get-away, I was able to block…
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Quick Get-Away
Today is Day 29 of my Happiness Hacks series. Faced with an open Saturday (a miracle of sorts for our family), we decided at the last minute (as in, yesterday) to make a quick get-away trip to our local mountains. When we’re home, we tend to keep ourselves constantly busy with work and chores. There’s…
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Finding my Lane
Today is Day 28 of my Happiness Hacks series. As I get closer to the end of this series, I’m needing to dig a bit deeper to find my daily hack. Many of the practices I’ve written about, like going for a run, hugging, reading, walking my dog, and getting things done, I do just about every day.…
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