Mothers, let’s admit the to-do list for our household is of our own making. From cooking to shopping for groceries, cleaning and mothering. I tell my daughters to find a man who can cook. I say this because I married one who really will only cook breakfast, canned soup, hot …
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Paying their Way
Many of our millennial children are smack dab in the era of student loans, expensive tuition and relatively low entry-level salaries. As a result, millennials like my daughter, Paige, rely on their parents to help support them between college and the years they actually start their lives. It seems like …
Read More »Not a Movement Too Soon
There’s a new teachable moment we have to confront as parents and it’s one that is long overdue. As the #MeToo movement was taking off, it hit home for me with the memory of an encounter my daughter experienced as a 24-year-old summer law associate. Although I knew her strength and character …
Read More »Learning to Give Is a Gift for Our Kids
Do our kids really need all of those gifts? These days, it seems like the gifts that go on for, well, days and days. My 9-year-old niece gets so many gifts during Christmas that they cover the floor of an entire room. But I have been guilty of that kind …
Read More »An Electronic Challenge
I was thinking that maybe this Thanksgiving we could all give up our smartphones for a day. You can only answer your phone if the caller is a late dinner guest or one who needs directions. Or if there’s an emergency. Better yet, tell people to use your home phone …
Read More »The Best Cure for First-Day Jitters
The first day of school has so many challenges and joys, whether it’s the start of daycare, kindergarten, middle school, high school, college or just starting the next grade. Many parents talk about tears when sending their little ones off to school for the first time and having a deep …
Read More »Last But Not Least
The pressure is on to get your family in shape for going back to school. One of the best things you can do now is to secure your village. Raising a child requires one, for sure. One of the hardest questions I had to fill out on all of those …
Read More »Ask Lisa
My son was pretty determined to take a gap year between high school and college, but now is having second thoughts. Of course I want him to go to college, but I also want him to live with his decisions. Do I swoop in and help him find a school …
Read More »Ask Lisa
Question: Every year my kids and I look forward to summer vacation and a break in the busy school year schedule. The first few days off feel like paradise. Then the kids get bored, and I get irritated with them. I don’t want to over-schedule them—that’s the beauty of summer …
Read More »Last but not Least
I’m now a dad to a teenage daughter and a son who just turned 11. Far from being a helicopter parent, I’ve tried to instill in my kids a bias toward self-sufficiency. Not exactly the throw-‘em-in-the-deep-end teachable moments that may serve as harsh reminders of youth for some, but appropriate …
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