How Doing Less Made Me a Better Parent
After suffering from some random aches and pains (hello middle age!) and working way too hard for too many decades, I finally hit a physical and emotional breaking point a few years ago. I realized that I needed more rest and that I needed to do less of everything. I also realized I needed to…
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Ep. 18: Adventures in Parenting with Tom Holland
In Episode 18, I talk with Tom Holland, a camp director and parent of four who has many excellent ideas for parents to teach kids to approach life with wonder and joy, learn leadership skills, enjoy the outdoors, and learn appropriate tech use habits. Tom attended the camp he and his wife Katherine now own, Wilderness…
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Connection Through Questions
If you were to ask me the most important thing parents can provide their children, camp counselors can provide campers, and teachers can provide students, I can sum it up with one word. Connection. Building a relationship and connecting with kids—while also helping them learn to connect with each other and form friendships—is the most…
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The Five Most Common Parenting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Before I was a parent, I worked with hundreds of kids as a camp counselor and then as a camp director. As an idealistic youth development professional, I was very opinionated about parenting techniques, and I was critical of what I saw parents doing and saying to their kids. I had a lot of “always”…
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The Uncool Mom
One of the numerous times I’ve made my son mad this year was the day I told him he had to go to school when a bunch of other parents were not making their kids go. Here’s the story: My son’s soccer team had a tournament on the last Friday of school before a break.…
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5 Ways to Teach Kids to Live Life Well
As I started writing this, I realized that my title is inaccurate: “5 Ways to Live Life Well” would be more appropriate. As an adult, I still need these reminders to help me live my own life better. And, as with all things parenting-related, our kids do not learn from what we tell them or…
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5 Fun 30-Minute Family Activities
With more of my kids away at school than still living at home, I have lofty ambitions for our family together time over these coming two weeks – the only time of the year when all our kids’ vacations coincide. In my mind, I’ve built up an unrealistic vision of music playing in the background…
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Parent Top 10
As I prepare for next month’s camp counselor training, I find myself reflecting—once again—that parents should get at least this much preparation before they start the job of raising kids. After all, just like camp counselors want to have a positive impact on their campers and thrive in their work, parents, too, want to have…
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3 Ways to Make Family Dinner like a Campfire
Most of us know the importance of family dinners: Kids who regularly eat dinner with their families are more emotionally stable, are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, get better grades, have fewer depressive symptoms, and are less inclined to obesity or eating disorders. It’s certainly a compelling list. But what can you do if your family dinner isn’t…
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Raising a Book Lover
When I was four years old, I amazed my Pre-K teacher by flawlessly reading aloud Are You my Mother? by P.D. Eastman. Not only did I read every word correctly, but I had appropriate inflection in my voice. Child prodigy? Um…actually, no. My mom had read that book to me so many times that I…
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Catch Them Doing the Right Thing
I’ve often thought it would be great if all parents could go through the kind of training and orientation we provide our counselors before they start working with kids during the summer. I’ve heard many times from past counselors that they learned a lot of their parenting techniques from working at camp! Often, parents and…
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Are We Having Fun Yet?
I have a confession to make. My family, as of late, does not have much fun together. Yes, there are the occasional weekend trips or parties with friends where we have fun. But, on a day-to-day basis, there isn’t a whole lot of fun going on around here. There’s homework. Laundry. Cleaning up the kitchen.…
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