Establishing reasonable expectations for your children in all aspects of their lives, including school, home, and family, is essential for raising children who are responsible, respectful, successful, and happy. But expectations without consequences are like a dog with a loud bark, but no bite; scary at first, but ultimately harmless. Consequences are what cause your [...]
The march of technology is inevitable and inexorable. We can’t stop it or even slow it down and we definitely can’t reverse it (nor should we want to). As I have noted in a previous post, one of my concerns is that this progress is so rapid that we don’t have time to determine or [...]
Giftedness is revered in our culture; inborn talent—whether intellectual, athletic, or artistic—ensures that children will be successful. How many times have you heard “Bode Miller was born to ski race” or “Lindsay Vonn was destined to greatness?” Well, let me clear something up: No one is born to do anything, certainly not to ski race. [...]
Parents who want their children to achieve something called “success” may find that this goal conflicts with their desire for their children to also become happy. Achieving success, as typically defined by our culture, emphasizes wealth and social status, and is often at odds with what the research has shown to produce happiness. A perusal [...]
Not long ago, I was posed four questions by a parenting magazine that I thought readers of Kids & Culture Alert! would find interesting. I'm afraid that I've turned my kids into "reward junkies" by praising, rewarding, and buying them gift constantly. I thought this would show them how much I love them and help [...]
Parents now have more ways than ever to keep their kids distracted, entertained, and otherwise occupied, in other words, out of their hair. Parental expediency has truly reached new heights thanks to the iPhone and its army of clever app developers. Expediency is one of the most dangerous words in parenting. It means doing what [...]
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of climate change, I hope there is no argument that, environmentally speaking, we simply can't sustain our current path for much longer. Air pollution caused by the growing number of automobiles on the road and coal-burning power plants worldwide. Our oceans and seas being fished out. Massive [...]
I was recently interviewed on a parenting radio show and thought that, with summer around the corner, the topic of kids and summer activities seemed timely. 1. What ultimately is the goal a parent should have in mind when they select/offer ideas to their children of what to do this summer? Parents should think about [...]
Hey, it wasn't my idea; a commenter raised the question in response to a recent blog post in which I argued that bad parenting is the number-one cause of failing students and failing schools and, consequently, the best point of intervention for public education reform. But it is an intriguing idea. Now, you may be [...]
Race to the Top is the name given to President Obama's education-reform program that is supposed to change the education system in America. But what it should be called is Race to Nowhere, which happens to be the name of a powerful new documentary by Vicki Abeles that explores, as the film's subtitle states, the [...]