Today is the feast day of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, who is well known for her autobiography, A Story of a Soul. Like Louis, I am a father of only daughters so I payed very close attention to Therese’s description of her “Papa” in her autobiography. There…
On Parenting
Relationship Advice: Give 90, Take 10
I never thought I would listen to relationship advice from Frank Oz, but he is the voice of Yoda after all. On the James Altucher Show, Oz shared why his marriage is working (around the 54 minute mark). He offered a piece of advice he heard from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans who were married…
Get the Other Person Saying “Yes, Yes” Immediately
When a person says “No” and really means it, he or she is doing far more than saying a word of two letters. The entire organism—glandular, nervous, muscular—gathers itself together into a condition of rejection. Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People My youngest daughter’s favorite word right now is “No, no.” She…
Christmas Traditions
Like a lot of people, we have our family traditions for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we make homemade pizzas, watch a Christmas movie, then get the kids ready for bed. For Christmas dinner, we order Chinese take out and eat with our fine China (the only time all year). Our girls love drinking “kids wine”…
The HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired) Strategy: How to Respond Temper Tantrums
Sometimes there is no amount of talking through a tantrum. Your child may not be thinking straight for another, more basic reason. I heard about this little trick in the audiobook of Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson’s The Whole-Brain Child: HALT and ask yourself: Hungry: Is my child hungry? Angry: Is my child angry?…
