The Four Tendencies: An Obliger’s Story
I’ve been enjoying Gretchen Rubin’s books since my oldest daughter (also named Gretchen) gave me The Happiness Project (Revised Edition): Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun several years ago. I listen to Rubin’s podcast (Happier) and subscribe to…
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3 Simple Techniques to Help Kids Make Friends
Coaching kids on their social skills is one of the most helpful things caring adults can do to positively impact children’s lives. Why are social skills so important? We need look no further than the 75-Year Harvard Study (and our own life experience) to know that it is NOT what college our kids attend or…
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Ep. 14: Ignore It! with Catherine Pearlman
In Episode 14 of the Sunshine Parenting podcast, I interview Catherine Pearlman, founder of The Family Coach. She co-hosts (with her sports writer husband, Jeff Pearlman) The Sports Parent podcast and is author of the recently released parenting book, Ignore It! How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction. We…
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Helping Your Fearful Kid Try New Things
“I DID IT!” Many of my favorite moments at camp are when I get to witness a previously fearful and hesitant camper in the moments just after they’ve tried something new. Their confidence and joy are at a high as they tell the story of how scared they were, how they tried anyway, and how…
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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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5 Must Reads Before You Drop Your Child off at College
Since August is the month when many of us say goodbye to our college-age kids and find our homes more quiet (and our hearts spread far), I thought I’d once again share some of my thoughts about important conversations to have during the college preparation and drop off time. Last year during this exact week…
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5 Steps to Raising a Problem Solver
One of the most important skills our kids need to learn in order to become responsible adults is the ability to solve their own problems. Hovering and overparenting certainly aren’t helpful in this department, but it’s just so darn tempting to step in and solve our kids’ minor problems because we are so good at…
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Ep. 13: Raising Boys to be “Knights” with Heather Haupt
“You are to use that [strength] to defend the women in your life against men that are abusing their strength.” -Heather Haupt In Episode 13 of the podcast, I’m talking with Heather Haupt about her book Knights in Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys. After interviewing Kathleen Buckstaff about her book Get…
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Why Teens Need Summer Camp More Than Ever
Being at camp gives me this sense of belonging that I’ve never felt anywhere else. I know that I can be myself and that my cabin mates will love me for who I am, and I’ve brought that to my life outside of camp. -Hannah Each summer, tens of thousands of teens leave their phones and car…
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Ep. 12: Teaching Teen Girls to “Get Savvy” with Kathleen Buckstaff
“I’ve written the book that I needed as a teenage girl.” -Kathleen Buckstaff In Episode 12 of the podcast, I’m talking with author and parent Kathleen Buckstaff. Kathleen and I were classmates at Stanford in the 80s, and we reconnected a few years ago when I learned about this book she had just started writing.…
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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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Ep. 11: The Opposite of Spoiled with Ron Lieber
What summer camp offers is the opportunity to quite deliberately place them [children] in a very different environment, and if you are careful about that, you can use that summer period as almost a “spiritual delousing.” -Ron Lieber In Episode 11 of the podcast, I’m talking with Ron Lieber, author of the 2015 New York Times…
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