Turn TOWARD Calls for Connection

In our fast-paced busy lives we often get caught up with our never-ending “to do” list and the stress and demands of work leave us tired and cranky. The result is little energy and motivation for emotional connection with our kids or spouse. In fact, research tells us that...

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Avoid Stepping in Puddles

As we weave our way down the highway of life it is inevitable that we will experience some difficulties, ranging from occasional bumps in the road to serious tragedy and anguish.  But it’s important to take a step back and view these from different perspectives. Where...

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Opposition in all things...Real versus False Connections

An article from Times magazine notes that genealogy, or exploring your family history, is the second most popular hobby next to gardening. Even more telling, these sites happen to be the second most visited category of websites. The most visited category of websites? Pornography. ...

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What Advice Do Empty-Nest Parents Have to Share About Parenting?

Let's say you are planning your first trip to Hawaii. Wouldn't you want to do some searching online about Hawaii? Who would you talk with to find out what you would need to see and do on your trip? I've seen several posts from friends on Facebook that ask this same question...

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Hershey Kiss Connection Challenge!

Valentines Day is right around the corner. For many couples it's an exciting time of year. For others, it can be downright painful. Yet others find themselves not knowing quite what to do or where to go to eat to "WOW" their sweetheart. While holidays can be times to share...

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Hold Up an Emotional Mirror

Research shows that when children (and adults) are experiencing a strong emotion (fear, anger, sadness, stress, etc.) it is very difficult to learn anything or listen to anyone. Have you seen this in children’s meltdowns? In the heat of the moment many parents are worked up...

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Make Time for 9!

Make Time for 9! When I teach parenting workshops, parents tend to really love this information. Again, the point is to help things go right. If you are familiar with the previous post on the Parenting Pyramid, you can see that this concept aims at strengthening the bottom...

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The Parenting Pyramid - Help Things go RIGHT

Many parents get caught in the trap of spending too much time threatening and disciplining their children and correcting them  when things go wrong. I’m guessing 70-80% of all parenting books focus primarily on what to do when things go wrong – what discipline strategy...

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PERMA

For decades psychologists were stuck in a rut of focusing primarily on the negative in both their research and their practice – much of that centered on treating and preventing depression and anxiety. But around 1998, Professor Martin Seligman changed all of that. He shook the field as he promoted positivity and flourishing. When he became the...

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Life is about connections...

Life is about connections. As a professor at Mizzou I am currently in the process of asking people two basic questions. First, I want to know what people say when asked, "To me, life is all about______________". And second I want to know what people will miss the most if they were to die tomorrow. So far it is clear that the majority report that life...

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