“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”It’s an approach I wholeheartedly embrace with my kids through daily life. If I micromanage every aspect of their lives, I may go crazy. Deep dives on every action I disapprove of, missed assignments, concerning observations or behavior choices is unhealthy. I find enough in life to fret over on a… Read more »

(Editor’s Note: The following column is a reprint from the summer of 2015.)Rainy weekend days test my parenting mettle.The saving grace for last Saturday — the first day of significant rainfall in a few weeks — was the morning was fine, and we were able to get out of the house early for a soccer… Read more »

There are methods behind what appears to be my 13-year-old’s madness.I am learning his own unique reasoning applies to most things in his life as we move through his maturation. It’s clear he likes to do things his way and prefers to not divulge details behind his rationale. If we try to take a deep… Read more »

Parenting seems to be all about the juggle.Regarding balancing her work career with raising kids, best-selling author Nora Roberts once said, “It’s too damn hard to keep everything in the air, and that’s a pressure we don’t need to put on ourselves. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done. If… Read more »

I never take anything for granted. It’s a lesson learned from life in general but parenting specifically.A case in point would be the first day of school this week. In some ways, I have been dreading this day for Carson, 11. When his routine and schedule gets rocked, his anxiety runs high, resulting in severe… Read more »

The last couple weeks have confirmed for me it’s time for the kids to get back in school.When neither kid has the desire, energy or enthusiasm for the beach, pool, Boardwalk, amusement parks or water parks on a summer weekend day, I think the summer doldrums have set in. They need to get back in… Read more »

(Editor’s Note: The following column is being reprinted from August of 2009, as the writer is on vacation this week.)Approaching the 15-month-old mark in a few days, Beckett seems to have found the joy in being alone. That’s how it seems at least with a new hobby he has developed.One of his favorite new objects… Read more »

The word “sleepover” makes me cringe whenever the request is made.For one thing, the term is a misnomer. A more accurate word would be “stayover” because just about everything happens except for sleep.I dread these stayovers. I want my son to have fun with his friends. It’s important, but I wish these hangout sessions did… Read more »

When it comes to teenage kids, the expression goes, “you don’t have to always like them, but you always love them.”The phrase hits home as the journey of raising a young teen plays out around our house.As a matter of disclosure, I both love and like my 13-year-old son Beckett. He’s wonderful and has many… Read more »