Recently, I was talking with a grandfather concerned about his elementary-age grandson. Two months prior, the boy had lost his mother in her early thirties. He went to live with his great-grandparents. What the boy didn't know is that his great-grandfather is terminally ill and may only last a few more weeks. This grandfather was rightfully concerned for his grandson's emotions and resiliency. He could relate, because he had lost his own mother at age 11 and had to learn how

Can you become uncomfortable and allow your child to express their emotions? You have to adapt to biting your tongue. You must bridle yourself from fixing the problem. Your best practice is to provide a safe space where any emotion can be expressed. Your child needs to know their parents are safe places where emotions can be freely expressed. From frustration to fear to anger to other emotions, parents can best act as loving parents by being the child's safe room. Teens in pa

During June, I want to devote my blog to helping your child (especially your teen) process and manage emotions. Let's start with two basic principles. You are not responsible for your child's emotions. You are responsible for your own emotions. Basic, yes, but parents can get it backward. They might fail to manage and be responsible for their own emotions, providing the wrong kind of role model. On the other hand, they might try to micromanage their child's emotions. This can

Watching a Facebook video by Russell J. Ledet, an Indiana University pediatrician and psychiatrist, I was reminded to tell you parents this message: You're not going to be a perfect parent with perfect kids. You're going to make mistakes. I've written and said that if I were the perfect parent with perfect kids, no one could relate to me. Luckily(?), I'm not. I have great adult children, and they would say I am a great father. They also have a long list of complaints about pa