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Bill Corbett: Posted on Monday, March 12, 2012 9:30 PM
 Does it happen to you? Your child seems to constantly crave attention and just when you're the busiest? It can be very frustrating because you feel like you give your child lots of attention and she just continues to want more. Keep in mind that anything that takes your attention away, such phone calls, work, the television, and even other people can make your child feel like she has competition for you. The number one thing to know about satisfying a young or even an older child's attention is to keep quiet when you're giving it to them. |
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Bill Corbett: Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2012 6:31 PM
My 14-year-old will do whatever she can to get out of having to sit at the dinner table and eat with us. From saying she’s full from her after-school snack to having too much homework to saying she’s tired. My wife and I ignore her excuses and calmly tell her that this is one of those things that we do as a family. I tell her it’s one of those “do as the Romans do” types of things and she usually slinks up to the table looking defeated. Before we know it, she’s perky and talking about the best and worst moments from her day at school. |
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Bill Corbett: Posted on Sunday, February 05, 2012 12:57 PM
 Ever find yourself thinking about a great intention, such as making a date with someone special in your life, only to realize later that you didn’t do it? We have to accept the fact that most of us are living incredibly busy lives with so much to accomplish in any given day, week, month, or year. We definitely know that we don’t want to end up on our death bed thinking about all the things we didn’t get done. This means that we can’t just rely on our ability to remember to do something, we have to learn and use a process to help us get it done. |
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Bill Corbett: Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2012 8:21 PM
Don’t take it personal if they are embarrassed by you  According to Dr. Anthony Wolf, author of the book “Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?” teens develop an allergy to parents because the teens are shedding anything and anyone who is connected to their “baby-self.” Relax and know that you will be able to regain closeness with then on the “over side” of this development area, when they move into young adulthood. Know their friends and their friends’ parents |
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Bill Corbett: Posted on Monday, December 19, 2011 4:23 PM
Avoid forcing your child to say thank you this holiday season. Doing so does not help them develop the gift of gratitude, it only forces them to do something they may not want to do naturally at first. Be sure that you are providing lots of examples of how to feel grateful for things, especially when they do things for you. I watched a battle build between a parent and young child in a store when the parent tried to force the child to say thank you when another adult gave something to the child. |
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Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 2:25 PM
The holidays are a good time to reflect on our children's ability to be thankful for what they have. Doing so requires us to first reflect on how well and how often we demonstrate gratitude for them. Being thankful does not come naturally for most children, as they see the world from an egotistical point of view; they are the center of the universe and everyone else encircles them and provides for them. It takes time and patience for children to develop the ability to behave in grateful ways, but also to feel being grateful for what they have. |
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Posted on Saturday, November 05, 2011 5:43 PM
When a parent demands that a child apologize for something, the child rarely feels any remorse for what he or she did. Instead, they are more likely to feel anger or resentment toward the parent for forcing them to do something they don’t want to do. The ability to apologize for both adults and children requires some sense of emotional intelligence and being able to understand how the other person feels. This must be developed over time organically. One day while watching over my grandchildren playing at a park, I noticed a young lady who was supervising a few children on a merry-go-round. |
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Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:16 PM
When your child brings the report card home, begin by doing three important things during the encounter; allow your child to hold the card and read the grades to you, remain completely quiet during the reading, and listen with 100% of your attention. Once the reading is complete, do not pass judgment or invoke consequences or punishment. Your job as a parent is to ask open ended questions that will allow your child to make his own assessment (not yours) of his performance being reflected in the report card. |
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Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 12:17 PM
In some families, the day the report card comes home can be an emotional time. If our parents handled this encounter ineffectively, with punishment, yelling, or even praise, then we too may struggle with how to manage it. Every parent longs to have their child bring home straight As on the report, but what if yours doesn't? Watch this NBC interview where I was asked for some suggestions on handling this teachable moment effectively. |
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Posted on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 7:25 PM
Connecting with a teen is much different than bonding with a child. It requires having a strategy to get through the outer emotional layer created by a condition many teens suffer from known as PARENT ALLERGIES. It also requires having patience and being persistent with their knack for deflecting a parent’s attempts to connect.
Case in point, I was away for several days recently, conducting lectures in another state. When I arrived home my teenage step daughter Olivia was sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen doing her nails. |
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