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Parenting Guru: What it takes to make friends

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

What do parents worry about most when it comes to their children’s friendships? Bullying, peer pressure and being left out, says Eileen Kennedy-Moore, Ph. D., a clinical psychologist in Princeton, New Jersey, and co-author of The Unwritten Rules of Friendship and Smart Parenting for Smart Kids . Though every child has different social strengths and struggles, there are some tips that can help pave the way to new friendships. Dr. Kennedy-Moore, a mother of four kids, ages 19, 17, 13, and 11, shares her advice with SheKnows below.

Parenting Guru: Getting kids to listen

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

If you tend to get stuck using the same script with your kids after having the same argument, while getting the same frustrating results, it may be time to switch things up. Meredith Wait, a mom of two boys ages 7 and 4, gives seminars and in-home therapy to families looking for ways to get young kids to listen.

Mom story: I’m an Olympic hockey player

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Four-time Olympian Jenny Potter, 33, of Anoka, Minnesota, who’s been playing women’s hockey with Team USA for 15 years, believes she still has more to give to the sport and is training for the 2014 Winter Olympics. When she’s not working out, playing hockey, traveling or helping other players with their skills, she’s hanging out with daughter Madison, 11, and son Cullen, 5. Read how she manages hockey and motherhood below.

Parenting Guru: How available are you?

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

What’s the radical way to parent your tween or teen? Being unconditionally loving and accepting, says Dr. John Duffy, author of The Available Parent: Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens. That means no lectures, criticizing or getting emotional. Can you do it? Dr. Duffy follows his own advice in raising his 16-year-old son, whom he describes as admirable. It’s all about building a relationship out of optimism rather than fear, he says. Learn more about his approach to raising teens and tweens below.

Mom story: My husband has Asperger’s syndrome

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Kristen Finch, 35, of northern Illinois, and mother of two kids ages 5 and 6, knew something was wrong with her husband, David, shortly after they got married. His strange behavior, odd social skills and quirks led to a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome. Learn how her husband’s diagnosis strengthened their marriage, below.

Parenting Guru: The benefits of emotion coaching

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

You can teach your children how to master their frustrations at a very early age, says Kimberley Clayton Blaine, a Los Angeles-based national parenting expert. Blaine, a licensed family and child therapist who specializes in working with young children, says kids who aren’t able to freely express themselves may grow up with issues that can prevent them from having healthy relationships and successful careers. To avoid such issues, she advises parents to foster emotional intelligence through emotion coaching. Blaine practices emotion coaching with her kids, ages 5 and 7, and offers insight to the technique below.

Parenting Guru: The difference between boys’ and girls’ brains

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

For every time you hear, “It’s a boy thing,” or “She’s all girl,” and you think, “Yeah, but why?” — we’re here to tell you it’s a brain thing. Scientists can literally see the differences between boys’ and girls’ brains. “It’s important to understand the distinctions but different doesn’t mean good or bad, better or worse; it just means different,” says David Walsh, Ph.D., psychologist and parenting expert who has been studying children and brain science for decades. “You can’t generalize to describe every boy or girl — there are millions of exceptions.” Dr. Walsh, author of Smart Parenting, Smarter Kids: The One Brain Book You Need to Help Your Child Grow Brighter, Healthier, and Happier, talks brain science with SheKnows below.

Mom story: I work for NASA

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Liana Rodriggs, 40, of Houston, Texas, followed her passion and pursued her dream career of working for NASA where she helps develop technology for space exploration. When Liana’s not with her team in the space suit and crew survival systems branch, she’s busy with her other troop — husband Michael, a NASA engineer, and their four sons, ages 7, 11, 13 and 15. Learn how Liana juggles working at NASA and motherhood.

Parenting Guru: Do you blow off your kids?

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Busy? Parents today are swamped, stressed and overwhelmed. So where does that leave the kids? We turned to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, dubbed “America’s Rabbi” by Newsweek, and international bestselling author of 23 books, for the answers. His books on the American family, ,em>Parenting with Fire and Ten Conversations You Need to Have with Your Children were both launched on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Rabbi Shmuley shares his insight below.

Mom story: I help the homeless rebuild their lives

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Leaving a shelter is a huge step, but then what? Often, families find housing but have nothing for furniture — not even beds. Treger Strasberg decided to change that and co-founded a nonprofit, Humble Design, in order to provide furniture and create warm and comfortable living spaces for women and children starting over in Detroit. Helping families on the way up is a success and Treger’s work has gained national recognition. Treger was featured recently on the reality show, Motor City Rising, which aired on the Ovation network, as someone helping to turn the city around and break the stereotypes. Treger, a mother of two, ages 5 and 6, hopes to spin her idea off in other cities.

Parenting Guru: Are you a mean mom?

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Denise Schipani, the mom of two boys, ages 7 and 9, wrote Mean Moms Rule: Why Doing the Hard Stuff Now Creates Good Kids Later , because she had a lot to say about raising kids in a slightly old-school way. “Helicopter parenting, over-involved, mama-as-selfless-saint parenting had been 'in' for some time, and it never appealed to me,” she says. Schipani, who blogs at Mean Moms Rule, shares her advice with SheKnows below.

Mom story: My son has Niemann-Pick disease

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Darrile and her husband Mark knew their newborn son Dillon had health problems almost immediately — he had jaundice for three weeks after they brought him home from the hospital but he was misdiagnosed several times. Finally, at around age 3, a doctor did a skin biopsy that revealed that Dillon had Niemann-Pick Type C , a rare genetic disorder that results in abnormal amounts of cholesterol and lipid accumulating in the spleen, liver and brain. There is no cure, but rather than give up, Pappier decided to put all her efforts into raising money for scientific research, with the attitude that there has to be a first child to survive NPC — why not Dillon?

Parenting Guru: Can girls dodge the drama years?

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Haley Kilpatrick was the new girl in middle school and an easy target for mean girls. She ate lunch alone in the girls’ bathroom to avoid being ostracized in the cafeteria. Things got better when an older girl in high school took her under her wing. Kilpatrick decided at age 15 to start Girl Talk, a program where high school girls mentor middle school girls. Today, the non-profit organization has more than 40,000 participants each year in 43 states and six countries, with a mission to help middle school girls build self-esteem and develop leadership skills. Kilpatrick, author of the new book, The Drama Years: Real Girls Talk About Surviving Middle School – Bullies, Brands, Body Images, and More, shares her secrets with SheKnows on surviving middle school.

Mom story: My big RV adventure

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Maile Smucker, 33, a stay-at-home mom with four kids and her freelance writer husband, Shawn, 35, decided hit the road last winter for a cross-country adventure and mobile homeschooling. They put their belongings in storage, borrowed an RV from a family member and settled into their new 400-square-foot living quarters.

Parenting Guru: Can your kids relate cross-culturally?

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0700

When your kids get into the career world, they’ll likely work with people from an array of races, beliefs and backgrounds. Feeling comfortable and talking about your differences is critical in life, according to Janet Penn, executive director of Youth LEAD, a non-profit organization that brings together high school students from different religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds to learn from each other. Read how to help your kids embrace diversity and foster new bonds.

Mom story: I lead Microsoft’s disaster relief efforts

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Claire Bonilla, a mom of three kids ages 5, 9 and 13, in Redmond, Washington, is prepared to drop everything at a moment’s notice when a natural disaster strikes. The senior director of Microsoft’s disaster response program coordinates emergency tech solutions — such as real-time communication and mapping software — for areas hit by natural disasters. Claire has helped coordinate more than 170 worldwide response efforts. Claire reveals to SheKnows how she balances the demands of her career and family.

Parenting Guru: When kids “catch” stress

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:00:00 -0700

David Code, Episcopal minister, father of two and author of Kids Pick Up on Everything: How Parental Stress is Toxic to Kids, explains why when it comes to children’s health, the real toxin is your tension, because kids pick up on the "vibe" you give off.

Mom story: I made a video about my blind son

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Lacey Buchanan, 25, of Woodbury, Tennessee, created a video about her blind son, Christian, so he’ll know that he has value beyond his looks. The homemade footage made on her iPhone, tells the story with flashcards of what it was like learning that her son might not live when she was pregnant and then finding out that he had Tessier cleft, a diagnosis only about 50 people in the world share. The video initially posted on a religious website, was reposted to YouTube and other sites. The footage went viral with roughly 7 million hits.

Parenting Guru: What are your money priorities?

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Laura Vanderkam, a mother of three kids under the age of 5, and author of All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know about Getting and Spending, helps you think about the role money plays in your family. Vanderkam shares her insight about finances, parenting and priorities below.

Mom story: My son with Down syndrome models

Julie Weingarden Dubin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Amanda Langston has 6-year-old twin boys, Ian and Ryan. Ian is typical and Ryan has Down syndrome. The New Jersey mom says she never could have imagined that Ryan, who had open heart surgery at three months, would one day model for major retailers. But with a catalog appearance for Nordstrom in 2011 and a Target ad in January, the modeling world is Ryan’s reality.