More than “I’m Sorry”
Teaching Kids the RIGHT Way to Apologize An important relationship skill is the ability to resolve conflicts. And resolving conflicts often involves an apology. Most kids are bad at apologizing, and that’s because the adults in their lives are mostly bad at apologizing, too. Apologizing well is a skill not many of us have mastered.…
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No Time for Family Dinner?
Back in 2012, I wrote about how much I treasure our Family Dinner. That was a precious, memorable year for our family, the final one before our oldest daughter left for college.
Now our family dinners include just four of us (myself, my husband, and our two boys), but they are still my favorite part of the day – and often the only time we really talk and connect.
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Google Parenting
In a phone call with a parent this week, she relayed the story of her teenage daughter running away (briefly) and how, even with 25 years of parenting experience (and numerous parenting books, classes, and conversations) behind her, she found herself Googling what to do. Being able to share these challenging parenting experiences (and laughing about them…
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Learning to Enjoy the Little Things
September is my “new year.” The busy summer is over, and I have some time to rest, reflect, and regroup – three things I have never mastered. I’ve been drawn this month to books that continue to give me the same message loud and clear: slow down, savor, be present, be mindful. Those words are…
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Final Conversations Before College
Today I traveled 2,326 miles to drop off my youngest daughter for her freshman year of college. After a few days helping her get settled and procuring a mattress pad, a desk lamp, and other dorm-room necessities, I’ll get on a plane and return home, leaving her here, 2,326 miles away from me. Perhaps you can…
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The Power of Positive Words
Well, I don’t know the child that was returned to me on Saturday. It definitely wasn’t the child I dropped off two weeks earlier. The only logical explanation is that your camp is magic. Magic transformed my scared, sad, not always happy boy, into a confident, smiling, laughing young man. -Email from a Camp Parent I have…
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Dear Parent Hitting the Refresh Button (again) to View Camp Photos
Dear Parent Hitting the Refresh Button (again) to View Camp Photos, I know your pain. I’m on your side of the computer this week, waiting for a glimpse of one of my children at his camp. So far, I’ve seen only one blurry, side-view of my son in the far background of a picture of…
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Helping Kids through their “Low Point”
During one of our final training sessions with counselors, we ask them to think back to their “low point” as a child or adolescent and remember what, if anything, caring adults did to help them through. It’s a great reminder to counselors to think about the developmental stage of the campers they’ll be working with…
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Connection Before Correction
Because I know our counselors may not retain every bit of information covered in training, there are a few concepts I will continue to focus on and share with them throughout the summer. One of those is the importance of connection before correction. I’m convinced that developing positive, close relationships with children serves as a…
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Celebrating Strengths
What are the qualities you like best about yourself? If you’re like me, I’ll bet you haven’t thought about that question much. You may tend to focus more on the things you don’t like about yourself or the qualities you see in other people that you wish you had. One of my favorite quotes is…
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7 Reasons to Get Outside
Next to unplugging, one of my favorite things to talk about is spending time outside. In fact, I believe the combination of unplugging AND spending time outside may be the answer to many of life’s ills. I know that combination works for me. During the summer, I spend most of my time outdoors. As a…
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Questions for Connection
When the calendar turns to spring, my mind turns full steam into counselor training mode. I can’t help it. After four decades of preparing counselors for their summer working with kids at camp, I can’t help but be über-focused on gathering tools to help prepare them to be engaged with campers, thrive at camp, and…
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