He put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster for his breakfast. And then climbed a ladder to the roof. To remove a brick from the chimney. While his bread was toasting.

This is ADHD. (read more…)

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I am a very open person. Wear my heart on my sleeve. I remember a waiter, watching my face while he read off the dessert list, advised me never to play poker. That’s how obvious my emotions can be. I have always been right “out there” with my feelings. At times I have questioned whether or not this is good as a mom. (read more…)

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This story may leave you wondering if I simply think too much. I do. But I think it’s probably true that all of us could give a little more thought to the affect our own attitudes can have on a child.

I was waiting in the dentist’s office this morning and a young boy, (read more…)

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What’s that saying about kindness (or some other virtue, I can’t recall) beginning at home. Does anyone remember? Well, you are probably familiar with the idea even if I don’t have the exact words. Everything begins at home. The good the bad and the ugly. (read more…)

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When I had my daughter, someone gave me a Dr. Spock (he’s the baby guy right?) book about raising children. It looked pretty good as I recall, but was a very thick paperback. ADD’er that I am, I think I read like the first two or three chapters and never picked it up again. I got exactly one piece of good advice from that book and I pretty much applied it to everything from then on. (read more…)

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One of the best pieces of advice I ever got about raising my daughter was from the director of her preschool, Arlene Wright. My four year old daughter was asking to take a dance class. The only time she could attend was on Saturday mornings. Since she was already in preschool five days a week from 7:45 a.m. til 4:30 or 5:00, I was hesitant to schedule anything for her on Sat. I asked Arlene what she thought about it. She flat out said, “It’s too much.” (read more…)

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Today gave us one of the first glimpses of the beautiful, sunny, warm spring days to come. You know, people doing yard work (not me), playing lacrosse and football in neighborhood streets (again, not me). But I’m not writing about spring renewal stuff anyway, I’m just setting the scene for how I noticed the way many parents talk to their kids and the stress it can cause. For us parents.

We were taking a walk in the neighborhood and happened by (read more…)

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