I'm sure all of us can honestly say that we are sincerely happy and grateful for our kids. When we look back on our lives with them, we remember all the "firsts" with such joy. I know this is true for me. Even though all my five kids are teenagers and young adults now, I can still remember the first time I found out I was pregnant, the first time I held each one of them in my arms, the first time they started crawling, their first day of preschool, their high school graduations, taking them to college, etc. [...]

Stories are powerful. Watching a good movie or reading a book can give us better perspective on the story of our own life.  Seeing the hero struggle and triumph inspires our own courage, bravery and hope in the face of great challenge and difficulty. For this reason, I was shocked by a discussion I had with a second grade counselor the other day. She told me that her students are now strongly resonating with the role of the villain over the role of the hero. They are idolizing the one who is strong, selfish, powerful and undefeated, trying to [...]

Robert Coles, the famed child psychiatrist, author, and Harvard Professor once said, “We live out what we presumably want taught to our children. And our children are taking constant notice... measuring us not by what we say, but by what we do." It's true. Studies show parenting is less about what preach to our kids, and more about how we show up. Children are incredibly intuitive: they know the difference between our saying something and our living it. They also know the difference between us putting on the facade of perfection and being who we are. For this reason, I [...]

Have you ever seen two kids—in my house, it’s usually brothers– fight like crazy, and then a few minutes later they’re best friends? As if nothing ever happened? Kids have this incredible resilience-- an ability to bounce back from confrontation. This is something I've learned to keep in mind when I am tempted to get involved in their squabbles. Sometimes waiting it out is the best approach. Afterwards, it may be best just to let it go, especially if our kids have already left the moment behind.  Sometimes there’s no need to work through the issue.  Often we rehash [...]

  As parents, we all have concerns about success—our children's and our own.  We wonder, Most of us measure success by whether our kids make top grades, go to a good college, or earn a lot of money (all of which are certainly valid goals). But as spiritually conscious parents, we also know that success is less about the destination and more about the journey. The journey is what allows our children to learn their lessons, develop internal attributes, and grow into who they are meant to be. And yet how often do we give our kids short-cuts? Acting [...]

In the relentless stream of daily activities, it is easy to slip into ‘auto pilot’ and miss the nuances that make for a rich experience of life – especially when it comes to our children. We talk to our kids every day, and they talk to us, but do we really hear what they’re saying? And do they do the same for us? One practical tool for creating an environment that encourages this receptivity is called active listening. In surprisingly simple ways, it creates the mutual respect that makes true communication possible. By modeling it in our daily interactions [...]

One of the biggest obstacles we face as parents is guilt.  Guilty for not spending enough time with our kids, guilty for wanting to spend time away from our kids, or guilty for mistreating them. Many times we get so caught up in guilt—the feeling we’ve done something wrong—that it pushes other feelings aside.  It can be tempting to wallow in this bad feeling or to assume that feeling guilty is a sign that we’re spiritual. But that gets us nowhere. When it comes down to it, guilt has only one purpose.  It’s a tool to prompt us to [...]

Sometimes it is all too easy to "lose it" with our kids. This can take on lots of forms: Screaming at them, ignoring them, emotionally checking out, being sarcastic or verbally abusive, and even (dare I say it) hitting them. We all fall into the trap of reactivity sometimes, but it's never the way to go, not because it's "immoral" per say, but because it doesn't benefit anyone. When we're reactive, we’ve lost control of ourselves, and our kids know it.  Once they see they can push our buttons, they get the idea that they control us—and they’re right!  They [...]

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." - The Dalai Lama In a world that is fear based and hate filled, it is more and more important to cultivate compassion. As the Dalai Lama said, it is a sure way to bring joy into our lives and the lives of those around us. As a parent, compassion isn’t easy to teach, but as always the very best approach is to model compassionate behavior in our own lives – especially when it comes to dealing with our own kids and [...]

We all feel the urge to play a role in the grand scheme of things; we want to make a difference in the world. But sometimes when we’re busy with our own children at home, cooking, changing diapers, doing homework, driving to after-school activities, we can feel like we’re missing out on the real action in life. But are we? As we thrive to be spiritual people and parents, we need to cultivate the understanding that investing in our children is another way to change the world. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, or you work a full-time job outside [...]