The term “free-range parenting,” coined by Lenore Skenazy, describes that 1950-60’s era where children, no longer tied down by farm chores or factory shifts, were free to bike across town, climb trees, float across swamps on homemade rafts, and build forts far from adult supervision. Kidnappings were actually just about as common, but they didn’t get worldwide press coverage as they do today. Broken bones were less common because children took risks earlier on in life, from lower obstacles, and learned natural caution!

Read more on Take a Free-Range Parenting Step…

Parenting is a balancing act—and no one who is honest will tell you that they did it just right.

If you’re overprotective, your children become fearful
If you aren’t protective enough, they’ll have good reason to be fearful
If you guide or make all their decisions, they’ll lack the ability to reason
If you give them responsibility for decisions too early, they may be hampered by poor choices

Read more on Balanced Parenting…

I am a huge proponent of summer camps.  I started at summer camp when I was 8 years old, and my gym teacher, who was also the camp program director, gave me a scholarship to attend.  After that week (despite the bouts of homesickness and a few bug bites), I was hooked, and continued to attend camp each summer as a camp, then a junior counselor, and a counselor.  In fact, my first “real” job out of college was as a camp director, and I still have very good relationships with (and many, many very fond memories of) both camps that I worked at and attended.   One of the reasons I even agreed to go on the first date with my husband was because he too had attended and worked at summer camps.  The experiences at camp can be life affirming, life changing, and, well, just plain fun!

Read more on How to Choose the Best Summer Camp for Your Child: 10 Questions to Ask…

Although there are days when your child may be pushing all of your buttons and you feel as though your reactions are beyond your control, it truly is a daily (or perhaps even moment to moment) choice not to yell, to stay calm, to choose love, and to parent positively.   Even still, all parents get angry at their children.  Anger is a type of message, in and of itself is not necessarily a problem, except that in the heat of the moment it is difficult to see the situation for what it is and react thoughtfully to it.  In the blog post “How can you stay cool when your kid acts up?” by Dr. Laura Markham at ahaparenting.com  she highlights five tips for staying level-headed when your child is acting up:

Read more on Staying Calm When Your Child Acts Up…

Ah, spring break. If you aren’t going out of town and aren’t signing your kids up for a week-long day camp, here are a few ideas beyond field trips and play dates (both of which are great ideas in themselves, incidentally!)

Read more on Spring Break Games…

My children didn’t always like playing together. Shocking? I hope not! Occasionally, siblings are a perfect match for each other, but mine had very little in common other than parents! Extravert, introvert. Boy, girl. Mr. Rogers, Barney. See what I mean?

Read more on Siblings, Legos and Other Desperate Moves…

It’s Saturday morning and it’s sleeting outside and the power is out inside. Could your children entertain themselves? I’d suggest not waiting until such a messy weekend to find out! Here are three ways to prepare—and to avoid the “I’m bored” whiners on more normal days as well!!

Read more on The “I’m Bored” Antidote…

Parents, teachers, students…it’s hard to tell who is more nervous about those conferences. They’re seldom long enough, and often not private enough, for deep conversation. So how can you get the most out of them?

Read more on Teacher Conferences…

While it’s possible to raise a swimmer if you hate the water, and a pitcher if you can’t throw straight, the easiest way to raise readers is by reading yourself. While it might be hard to find time, might I suggest that if you found the right book, little would stand in the way of your finishing it? And if your children see you squeezing in time to get back to a great book, might they also see books as worthy of their time? Here are some great ways to find titles

Read more on Resources for Parents Who Seldom Read…