So much has happened today -- I could write a book. Nothing terrible, but some interesting insights into the workings of peoples' minds when managing children's behaviour and the problems they face.

Where to start -- at the beginning I guess...

I got an email the other day promising a big box of chocolates if I could manage the behaviour of a mini tyrant -- he's 7! Challenge or what? The choice promise was from a fellow professional who advises on attendance, truancy, but also has the authority to make referrals to my classes. She's making a referral for mini tyrant and reckons he's going to take all my skill to manage.... She even has doubts that it's possible!

What she didn't know is that I'd already met this little guy. Last year the head teacher of his school asked me to obs ...

There is so much in the news nowadays about financial hardships in our country. How can our young people not hear about it and wonder how it affects them? I am sure there are many parents wondering exactly how much information they need to share with their children, especially concerning their personal financial situation. I hope that what I have to say will shed some light on that issue and also help with the guilt that I know parents are feeling at not being able to give their kids all the want.

I remember a time in my life that I was suffering from hard personal financial problems. My girls were 11 and 12 years old. I was recently divorced and a struggling single mom. Financially, we did not have much. We lived in southern Florida. I became a pro at feeding my girls on $10.00 a week. Although we did not have money in our pocke ...

How do I Deal with My Picky Eater?

So your four year old won't eat anything but cheese and crackers? Your six year old hates anything with a sauce on it. Your eight year old won't let his lips touch a vegetable if his life depended on it. What do you do? You're trying to be a good parent and provide nutritious meals to your growing children but it's getting more and more challenging.

As a parent and a chef, I frequently get asked how to deal with a picky eater. I first need to qualify my response and say that I'm not a nutritionist or a dietician so my knowledge of nutrition is based only what I studied for my culinary degree.

My approach to the problem of a picky eater is from the perspective of an educator and parent. What I know is that children find ways to exercise power and control and o ...

It's useful for parents to understand the difference between punishment and discipline.Punishment is a penalty imposed in retribution for a wrong action. The goal of punishment is often unclear and may have more to do with appeasing a parent's anger than with improving the child.

Sometimes punishment is discipline. Sometimes it's merely retribution. To discipline is to teach. When punishment is used to teach it can be effective. Other times it's just hurtful, an expression of a parent's rage.

Why discipline? To teach self-control. Self-control increases self-worth. Society demands that we behave in certain acceptable ways. When we learn the rules of society we are able to gain love and acceptance. When we see ourselves operating successfully in the world we feel good about who we are. Feeling good a ...

Attention seeking behaviour in children is common and usually nothing to worry about, but many parents worry about what parenting strategy they should use. From always giving in to your child to always standing firm, there is a wide spectrum of approaches.

Most people would say they have no pre-determined parenting strategy; that it comes naturally to them and they do what they feel is best. Others don't feel comfortable unless they have read the 'manuals' and have a proscribed method to follow. Whichever school of thought you belong to, the problems you face are the same. Attention seeking behaviour is a common issue faced by parents and here are some strategies to deal with it:

1. Do not always respond

Children try to get your attention. Whether that is positive or negative attention, if they get a re ...

A friend of a friend had her first child leave the nest. She did it a bit too soon, left before graduating from high school to go live with some boy. The daughter did get her GED and fortunately is not pregnant. Despite the silver lining of moving out of a dysfunctional home, the daughter is not making good use of her life. She has no job, doesn't even try for one, lives off her husband's meager income and spends money like its water. As a result there are frequent calls home to mom and dad begging for money to cover the rent, the utilities and even groceries. Yet they have lots of computer toys, games and movies whenever they want.

As a parent of young children I look at this situation and try to learn from it. My first lesson is this: no matter how hard it is, I cannot continue to support an ungrateful lazy child so s ...

"Families are the basic building blocks of humanity. The family unit is still a family unit whether its members are twelve or two. Family unity is developed and displayed in a variety of ways and in many different settings, meaning family unity is a family being together in happy and peaceful. Today, families are under constant stress, being pushed and pulled from many directions, often without the support systems of extended families that may have existed in the past.

Unity:

Unity is a modern day family play that blends drama and comedy that depicts real life family issues and the significance of spiritual values. This so called unity is an essential strength of healthy families, particularly in times of crises and tragedies. The faith community in particular is very distressed that families are separated due to our inequi ...

It Depends on the Child

The first problem with trying to keep bad dreams to a minimum is that different children have different perceptions about their worlds. With very young children (1-2 years old), you may not be able to reason with them very much. Additionally, they may not be able to explain what scared them in their dream. As they get older, it gets easier. Then, you can get more detail from them as their vocabulary increases and they can tell the difference between real and not real - between the dream and their real life.

The TV Dilemma

Often parents shelter their children from the television because of scary images. It is a good rule of thumb to keep your children watching age-appropriate shows to tame their dreams. However, there will be times when they cannot be sheltered from what they see. And those are ...

Allowing your teen to get a part-time job in high school is a tough decision. For some parents, it is a financial necessity. For others, it is a sacrifice that takes the teen out of the house much too often. For most, however, it is more a question of whether or not the teen will get any value from the job or if working early in life takes away from the enjoyment of youth.

The decision you make should be partly dependent on what your teen wants and needs, but that should not be the only concern. Before you let your teen work, there are certain things you should consider:

Grades

How good are your teen's grades? Is he or she responsible with homework? Can your teen manage his or her schedule well enough to add work and still get everything done that is required? Can he or she find work that will be flexible with th ...

Communication is, in many ways, a full-time activity. But as a parent you may not stand back and think about how you speak or listen - the two vital components of communication - to your children. One of the biggest issues I come across as a parent coach is helping parents overcome the barriers and misunderstandings brought about by poor or ineffective communication.

Before you begin radically overhauling your communication style and skills,you need to evaluate how you listen and speak with your children on a daily basis. The following sections cover some of the most essential - but often overlooked - aspects of communication.

Questions are very powerful. They're the currency of good communication, unlocking confusion and facilitating understanding. The key to really effective communication is asking the right question ...