Traditions That Bring Families Closer

Why Do Families Need Rituals?

What's a ritual? It's a routine with meaning. Children love ritual. Repetition, the comfort of belonging, the sense of wonder, magic, and celebration -- all create a bonding experience that nurtures both kids and parents. Rituals hold families together.

Autumn Holiday Rituals that Nurture Family Connection

Parenting is tough, and often we're just rushing against the clock to get our kids out the door in the morning, pick them up on time, get them through their homework and dinner, into the tub, into bed...so we can get up the next morning and do it all over again.

Thanksgiving Rituals To Teach Gratitude

A whole body of research now confirms that adults, children and adolescents who report feeling gratitude are happier, healthier, more content, more optimistic, and more likely to be helpful to other people in every way. They're also less materialistic, less envious and less likely to become depressed. And what better time to begin than Thanksgiving?

21 Questions To Ask Your Family for a More Meaningful Thanksgiving

Does your family have wonderful Thanksgiving discussions? One surefire strategy is to ask good questions that get everyone thinking, speaking, connecting about something meaningful. Why not gift each person at your table with the chance to know each other at a deeper level?

A Thanksgiving Blessing

"When we experience a sense of gratitude, we give ourselves a dose of mental sunshine. Suddenly the world seems brighter, and we have more options. " -- M.J. Ryan

Parents' Holiday Survival Skill #1: Manage Yourself

No matter what holiday you celebrate, what's your most important survival skill? In fact, what's the most essential skill for parents, at the holidays and every day? It's to manage yourself, so you can stay calm and loving with your child!

8 Tips To De-Stress Your December

December doesn't have to be stressful, no matter what holiday you celebrate. The increasing dark of the Northern hemisphere can be a signal to turn inward to your family, to create more warmth, light and peace in your home. It can be a time for cozy connection and deep joy, whatever your personal beliefs.

Easy Homemade Presents to Make With Kids

If it’s the thought that counts, then what matters about a present is the love that goes into it. There's no need to spend a fortune on gifts, whether for grandparents, cousins, friends or teachers. Your kids will love making them, and the recipients will treasure them.

Help Your Child Discover Her Inner Angel

"On Christmas morning, before we could open our Christmas presents, we would go to this stranger's home and bring them presents. I remember helping clean the house up and putting up a tree. My father believed that you have a responsibility to look after everyone else."
-George Clooney

Holiday Survival Guide

Disrupted schedules, traveling with little ones, the crash and burn from all the excitement -- Holidays can easily be a recipe for tears and tantrums. Here's a baker's dozen of my top tips to help you manage life during the holidays, so you can minimize the tears and maximize the joy.

50 Meaningful December Traditions for Families

Want more family joy and deeper meaning this holiday season? Experimenting with a new family tradition or two can lift your spirits and bring your family closer.

5 Easy Ways to Find the Spirit of the Season with Children

You Don't Have To Make Up for Not Being a Perfect Parent

"We often don’t feel the wonder and beauty because we're too busy trying to live up to the ideal in our head.... The cost of perfection is that it stresses us out to the point where we no longer enjoy the moment we're living in." - Pastor Jon

Guaranteed Favorite Toy

"You will always be your child's favorite toy."  -- Vicki Lansky

Looking for Love at the Toy Store

"Television advertisements for toys and games often exploit children's underlying needs and desires.  Many commercials show a child playing with a game or toy with her parents. The message is clear to young children: Ask for this product and your mother and father will pay attention to you. It is an offer they cannot resist." -- Lawrence Kutner

Looking for the perfect present?

The Best Gift You Can Give Your Child

"It's as if my children are awakening in me repressed hurts and fears that I don't wish to feel. It's far easier to detach, fix, coerce, manage or abandon ship than it is to simply be present. However, if I'm not willing to own my fears and emotions, my children must continue to act them out on my behalf. While at times it's a tough pill to swallow, the more I accept the above to be true, the more harmony and joy fills our family." -- TheFatherGuide

The Kindness Elf- A Holiday Tradition

When you look back on your family’s holidays, what do you want your children to recall?  Family traditions are the foundation of the holiday season because they create annual rituals that parents and children alike look forward to and delight in.  Are there specific holiday traditions that you want your child to tell their children about someday, and pass along to their own family?

The Gift of a Screen-Free December

Every December, toy companies spend huge budgets marketing to your child. From old-fashioned ads that show a parent and child having fun together with a toy, to product placement on their favorite episodes, screens induce cravings for more, more, more in our children. It’s our job as parents to protect our kids from this assault.

Make Merry & Make Meaning: Manage Your Own Mood

Hanukkah flew by, today marks the Winter Solstice, and the days are counting down to Christmas Eve! We all want to make this holiday season meaningful and happy for our families. So we rush around and get busy, and stressed, and the mood in our home becomes -- well, not what any of us would want it to be. 

New Year's Rituals for Families

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” - Brad Paisley

Children are fascinated by the passage of time, which seems magical to them. They LOVE the idea of a new year, a new beginning, a celebration of life. And so do adults! We can all use the momentum of a fresh start.

The Secret of Making a New Year's Resolution You Can Keep

Did you make a New Years Resolution to be more patient, or to stop yelling? Surveys show those are the #1 resolutions for parents.

Do you have a New Year's resolution about parenting? Let's do this!

Many people joke about New Year's resolutions as if they're impossible to keep. But there are some people who are able to change their lives in positive ways, using the new year to give them a psychological boost. What do they know that we don't?

10 Simple Ways To Improve Your Parenting, No Resolutions Necessary

Tired of resolutions? Here are 10 Simple Ways To Improve Your Parenting, No Resolutions Necessary. Put these on your fridge and read them daily. (You can download a pdf from the link at the end of the article.) I guarantee you less drama and more love.

5 Resolutions That Will Make You a Better Parent This Year

"Dr. Laura....My new year's resolution is to be more patient. But when I told my family, they reminded me that I made the same resolution last year. I feel like a failure, even though I know I've become a better mother over the past year." -- Christina

100 Ideas for Creating a More Peaceful World