Conscious Parenting
Recently my Mother passed away and as I look back on the experience of her decline into illness and dementia, I can honestly say that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to care for her and witness her final days on this Earth. Of course there was a lot of emotional pain for both of us – including regrets – and for me the jolting realization of my own mortality seemingly not too far in the distant future.
Children learn more from watching their parents than from listening to them – more is caught than taught. As parents, this puts great weight on how we conduct our lives. It requires us to be intentional about how we live. It requires us to self-reflect and evaluate if our lives match our words. And it requires us to be intentional about identifying the lessons we hope our kids will take from us. Here then, as my two children get older, are the 35 Things I Hope They Will Say About Their Dad. They represent the 35 most important lessons I hope they will learn from my life.
Whether you’re taking time today to honor your mother or yourself as a mother — or both — please consider doing a little inner work. With so much energy being focused on mothering and the collective heart chakra, it’s a great day to create some wholeness around your relationship with your mother, and I’ve created a powerful meditation in the video above.
If you’re a parent, the idea of adding the care and feeding of an animal to your responsibilities might feel like too much work. But having a dog, cat, bunny, hamster or other animal as a part of the family benefits kids in real ways. Studies have shown that kids who have pets do better — especially in the area of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), which has been linked to early academic success, even more so than the traditional measure of intelligence, IQ.
Farhana Dhalla tells you how important your presence is as a parent when it comes to ‘being’ with your children.
New eavesdropping Barbie records your child’s conversations and transmits them to a corporation that analyzes your kid’s likes and dislikes. And then things get weird.
Dating has brought great men in my life that gave me a piece of profound healing and faith in what lies ahead, melting off my limiting beliefs.
A public elementary school is abolishing traditional homework assignments and telling kids to play instead — outraging parents who say they may pull their kids out of the school. Teachers at P.S. 116 on East 33rd Street have stopped assigning take-home math worksheets and essays, and are instead encouraging students to read books and spend time with their family, according to a letter the school’s principal, Jane Hsu, sent to parents last month.
The following quotes may be used in a variety of ways by both teachers and parents . One idea is for a thought to be posted, read, and discussed at the beginning of each week. It could then be read daily with the students. At the end of the week ask them what they learned or how the thought applied to their lives or activities during the week. Have the children give written or oral examples, or have them draw a picture to illustrate their ideas.
One holiday season, while the children were with their dad for the holidays I decided to do something a little uncharacteristic. Instead of using that time to ‘punch out a bunch of work’, I opted for a sun and sand vacation in the Dominican Republic.
Every single day the pain was getting worse, thinking it was ‘just a toothache’, I put it off until a more convenient time for me to deal with it. One day with the pain no longer bearable I went to have it looked at to find out that it was not a root canal as I had thought, it was a neurological condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia. Google informed me that this was considered “one of the worst pains known to humankind” and has also been called “the suicide disease” for its progressive extreme pain and chronic features. Yay me.
Here is a list of 10 priceless gifts that also happen to be free, that every parent may bless their child with. These gifts last a lifetime, not a New York minute until the next fad.
I’m Easy. Well, not THAT kind of easy … although, in my 20’s… 😉 For a long time now I have been noticing that we reward ‘all that is difficult’. Like, “I studied hard for that exam” and, “It was a rough week” and, “I pulled an all nighter to get this project together for […]
I Am Enough. A couple of years ago I logged into my infrequently used Twitter account one day and found a flurry of messages congratulating me on my nomination. Nomination for what??? Apparently I had been nominated for a FIERCE Woman Award. I was touched that the nomination was in the category most meaningful for […]
It is said that in the first 7 years of life, children are like sponges, absorbing everything that they see and everything that they hear, whether it is being communicated directly to them or not. Apparently in those 7 years of their life they learn how to perceive themselves, their lives and the world they live in. It is in those first 7 years that the foundation for their entire life is being set. And if the environment they are raised in is a warm, healthy, loving and supportive one, the foundation on which their life will be built will be a very strong and healthy one.
