In my prior post on bullies, I mentioned my own sixth grade experience of being bullied. So, I feel a lot of sympathy for bullied children. I'm going to whisk through a framework for parents of bullied children, then develop a few points further in future blogs. Here is a four-part strategy if your kid is bullied: Detection and Support Strategies Escalation Find Friends In part 1, build open lines of communication in advance so your child knows they can bring their problems t

The Christmas shopping season is here! With prices high and young families strapped for cash, every cent counts when it comes to investing in your youngster’s toys. You're already seeing suggestions from social media influencers and advertisers. So, allow me to suggest my favorite toys that are both fun and ideal in helping your child meet their developmental milestones. For more helpful tips, check out my latest book, The New Mom’s Guide: Help and Hope for Baby’s First Year

Yep, bullying still exists. Despite anti-bullying programs, the age-old torment of fellow classmates or teammates goes on. I’ll spend this post and my next on bullying. Here, I ask, what if your kid is one of the bullies? According to StopBullying.gov , there are four factors in bullying. First, it could be the school's culture. The school's leadership may be weak in addressing bullying, look the other way, or deny anything is happening on their watch. I was the new kid in to

I've always been someone who likes numbers, exalts math, adores spreadsheets. But numbers can also lead us astray. Our children have been betrayed by numbers. Social media has taught our kids the number of followers determine your worth. Young people can become disappointed when their posts don't attract enough likes or shares to suit them. This failure is one of the ways in which social media can lead to loss of self-worth and even depression. The pursuit of numbers has also

I heard one of my favorite football coaches say this week that you get what you emphasize to your team. The same is true for parenting. A good example is the kind of questions you ask your child when they get home from school. One father took a more direct approach than "How was school?" He started asking his 12-year-old son, "Who did you help today?" As a result, the son now starts his daily description with "I held the door,", or "I helped a friend with math," or "I asked s

Many parents of babies and toddlers watch Ms. Rachel’s shows on YouTube. Her online videos teach young children early learning skills, including letters, numbers, and colors. She also emphasizes speech and language development through the use of songs, repetition, and visual aids. Her shows are often helpful to parents whose children aren't talking as they should. While her work is widely praised by speech therapists and other developmental experts, a quick online search show

Parents must strike the right balance between overemphasizing and underemphasizing a child's emotional needs. In my last blog , I showed how parents can veer toward Permissive Parenting when they only focus on love, kindness, and feelings without discipline. On the other extreme are parents who neglect or do not properly address a child's emotional needs. Typically, we see this behavior with the other two negative parenting styles, Dominant Parenting and Neglectful Parenting.

I've been seeing several comments or scenarios lately that indicate the touchy-feely approach to parenting is still going strong. For...

Chip Waggoner serves as traffic reporter on the Fox 4 Good Day morning show in Dallas-Ft. Worth. He is articulate and fairly athletic....

When I had coached my last Little League game, after six years with this team, I expected parents to comment on what their child had...

As much as I love youth sports, I've never been able to shake the memory of what led me to leave baseball behind as a middle schooler. I...

Fall means a return to school and to many youth and child activities. Over the next three weeks, I want to discuss a topic close to my...

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, endorses a new proposal from the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The advocated technique...

I feel sorry for my kids and their palates. When they were growing up, I didn't fix them the best meals. First, I didn't really know how...

A new parenting trend recommends the very opposite of what I recommend in Unison Parenting. In a misguided attempt to enforce natural...

Parents can say so much that kids tune out. I get it because I've done it. You're so happy when your child asks a deep question. You feel...

Experts have long agreed that barefoot is best for babies as they learn to walk. The reason is that the soles of the feet contain...

When my children would ask me for permission to go on some outing or to some social engagement, I would ask questions. A lot of...

Does it feel like saying "no" to your child leads to a tantrum? And not just at home, but in public? This is one of the seven signs of a...

Addiction to screens is a real thing for parents to worry about. A new study published by a division of the Journal of the American...