by Evelyn Lim
I compiled a list of affirmations for children, recently, from a wish to help mine with self-mastery and positive programming. As adults, many of our limiting thought patterns can be attributed to childhood conditioning or having unconsciously adopted negative societal beliefs. While we look for ways to help realign ourselves, how about starting with a better way forward in our children? […]
by Rosemary Lichtman Ph.D. and Phyllis Goldberg Ph.D.
Long before it was a song, the saying was a part of our conversation: Love makes the world go ’round.
With all this whirling, love can make you feel off balance and dizzy. Sometimes it’s tricky to keep your personal world turning without having it spin totally out of control. Although our focus is most often on romantic love, there are many different kinds of love that help keep us grounded. […]
by Ann Sheybani
image courtesy of flickr.com
I love, love, love Gala Darling. Her site is all about radical self-love. My favorite among her posts: 100 Ways You Can Start Loving Yourself Right Now. In it she says:
“Make lists of reasons why you love yourself… & write down (or keep mental lists) of the compliments other people give you. We’re so quick to believe people when they say nasty, unkind or “brutally honest” (ahem, cruel) things to or about us, & we discard all the times we’re told how amazing, beautiful or intelligent we are. Usually this is because our sense of self-doubt is stronger than our self-love. If you can build up the love side of things, this will begin to change.” […]
by Andrea Lynn
We are decorating the house for the birthday party. With my two girls, I’ve done seven parties, and the formula is nearly the same every time. Balloons, blown up by me and tied and taped to the ceiling in bunches, no matter what house we’ve been in. Streamers from corner to corner. Then comes the cake. A different one every year. A butterfly banana cake for Claire’s first birthday, a safari diorama for her second, a pink strawberry for her third, a round (!) chocolate cake with pink roses for her fourth. […]
by Karen Maezen Millier
To begin, understand this: you are never going to teach your child a life skill that you don’t already have.
But I know. You’re not here for yourself. You’re here because you’re worried about your child.
How do you teach children to meditate?
I’m asked about this all the time. Please know that I speak only from my own perspective as a mother and a practitioner. Everyone has his or her own view. Here is mine. […]
by Valerie Gillies
I am very opinionated about Christmas tree lights. Flashing is not permitted in our house. Period. I wish I could also stop the flashing going on with the kids I work with at this time of year. Parties, treats, memories, disrupted schedules, past trauma, all combine to make the human equivalents of having left a bucket of kerosene soaked rags in the basement. One little spark and—boom! It’s a tangled mess of emotion, exhausted parents, and zipped up kids. […]
by Andrea Lynn
It’s Christmas time, and my kids are 2 and 4. Magical, as everyone keeps telling me. This is the year. They must be so excited. And they are, I assure you. But boy, the pressure is really on ME now to live up to the hype. Traditions must be kept, or started. Decorating the house, buying the tree, the advent calendars, the gingerbread houses, the Christmas books. As each special thing happens, I wonder, hmmm, does this mean I have to do this again next year? Paper chains until they are how old? And, crap, I forgot to string the Christmas cards – is it too late? […]
by Jane Samuel
Okay parents, I know you want to make your kids happy for the Holidays. After parenting three children, one of which has sensory processing disorder, I have amassed a list of our favorite toys and activities. I can attest that not only will the following items bring laughter and joy to your house this season; they will work your children’s brains and bodies developing their cognitive, physical and emotional skills. Happy Holiday shopping; potential websites for ordering items are listed as well. […]
by Peg O'Neill, M.D.
Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything thy goodness sends.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
Leave it to a seemingly-clueless sixth-grade boy, who still needs to be reminded of some of the basic principles of functioning in life, such as the importance of brushing one’s teeth before leaving the house in the morning, or using something other than one’s shirt to wipe one’s mouth, to come home enthusiastically sharing the wisdom of his newly-discovered gift of an old poem, which pretty much sums up what is truly important, a flurry of words so crystal clear in simplicity and truth, reminding us of what really matters. […]
by Maggie Lamond Simone
Dear Reader: Maggie would like you to know that while she wrote this a few years ago, and she is now 50, the situation is still the exact same…and her mother still cooks the turkey.
I’m not what you’d call Tradition Girl.
In fact, I don’t have very many holiday habits that would even be considered “traditions,” and I think it’s partly because I married and had kids late. There were many years in there spent with roommates, friends, dates, and by myself, and I’m probably single-handedly responsible for misplacing every tradition my parents might have once had. […]