Author Jim Rohn suggested that you are the "average" of the five people with whom you spend the most time in your life. Think about the people with whom you spend the most time each day. (Take a moment and write down a list of your top five.) Now ask yourself:...
I have worked in large urban public schools for over 15 years and my kids have gone through public elementary, middle, and high schools in suburbs. I have two front-row seats to witness How Schools Really Work: Extreme Edition. If a school is running "properly,"...
“Why do psychologists all want people to be happy all the time? What’s wrong with being a pessimist or feeling depressed sometimes?” “I like the way it feels to be angry. I like to get it out of my system and just yell sometimes. And isn’t it proven that you need a...
I was almost on TV. Really. I was almost picked to be the host of a new reality show. Yes, I have been on TV a couple times before. I was the expert interviewed on the news, answering questions about bullying and how parents can help their kids with fears about school...
I just saw Matt Damon in the film “The Martian” and it made a big impact on me. (No, I’m not going to spoil the movie … but you SHOULD see it.) I will tell you that it has to do with surviving out in space, but I’m pretty sure you can figure that out from the poster...
When I was a kid, I saw my dad as larger than life. He could do super-human things. Then I became a father, and I found myself light-years away from being a superhero. I had a lot to learn, some thanks to my wife(!), to raise young adults who can spread their wings,...
My superpowers give me the courage to “go out on a limb.” When I was a kid, I wanted the powers I saw in comic books like super-strength and the ability to fly. As a father, I am discovering new superpowers that I had all along. The last few years, my life feels like...
The 2010 documentary Race to Nowhere showed how the college rat race was stressing kids out, hurting them both emotionally and physically. Stress came from a lot of directions, sometimes with good intentions. They felt stress from school, from parents, from peers, and...
If laughter is the best medicine, how can you let your guard down to be silly and make things fun with your family? Here’s the harder question: how do you lighten up when you want to shake your child for not listening or put your fist through the wall out of anger?...
Ultimate Frisbee is a sport I have played for nearly 30 years. During that time, Ultimate was a college sport, then a source of fun and fitness for me, and later a way for me to connect with my own kids. My whole family has enjoyed the Philadelphia Ultimate...
Can you hear it? We’re finally starting to talk about fathers and parenting differently. Having just watched the Super Bowl, how many ads featured parents and their relationships with their kids? Dads are staying home to take care of their kids. Fathers want to be a...
Meeting with a group of high school students, the conversation turned to fathers. One boy, about to go off to college, couldn't stop talking about how angry he was with his father. He didn't listen. He would spend the short time they had together telling him what to...