Not too long ago I took some fishing “Rods” (a couple of my neighborhood fishing buddies aged 14 and 18) to a special trout river in Arizona.
The automobile trip was long and hot, and my nerves were raw from the rock music blasting from (more…)
[I wrote this article some time ago. Re-reading it now, it seems just a bit “preachy” to me, but still very true. Read it anyway. You can handle it – and it’ll be good for you!)]
A divorce is difficult, not only on the parents but also on the children. (more…)
[I wrote this article some time ago. Re-reading it now, it seems just a bit “preachy” to me, but still very true. Read it anyway. You can handle it – and it’ll be good for you!)]
I remember getting up to leave my examining room several years ago and seeing out of the corner of my eye a little nine-year-old trying to fight back tears.
The boy had just listened quietly for an extended period of time while his mother and I discussed their upcoming move to Florida, where her new husband had found a job. She explained the “part time” arrangements (more…)
Attached to nearly every person that I have met has been a name. And for pediatricians it doesn’t take long to have heard quite a few of them.
Different areas of the world have varied parenting practices concerning naming (more…)
I definitely feel that the best gifts in parenting are the small things; for example, "healing hugs."
Some time ago in my medical school training, I was assigned to a hospital emergency room. A child about thirteen was brought in by ambulance (more…)
Recently a young patient brought me a special gift. Although he was ill, he had taken the time to gather one of the first autumn leaves which had begun to turn color.
He explained to me that he had picked the leaf recently on a “five senses” walk he had taken with his teacher.
(more…)
(I wrote this parenting article about growing up some years ago and have had fun realizing that now it seems even more true to me than it did back then)
You know, the mind is at once an amazing and complicated thing – and growing up doesn’t help.
Thank heavens we don’t remember everything, but once in a while in your adult life you are surprised by a memory that occurred so long ago you had completely forgotten about it. Things just seem to “sneak up” on you.
(more…)
With all deference to teachers, I am becoming more impressed that children do most of their learning when not actively being “taught”. At least in things that “count.”
The aspects of life, which are critically important to a child’s personality, are his attitudes, about: self, others, systems, things, and life in general.
Most parents know intuitively what types of things instill wrong attitudes in children and we may have even caught ourselves or neighbors saying such things as:
(more…)
It probably sounds like a moot point to ask which would be a better gift, even for Christmas, success in school or a train set. The answer should be obvious.
But, as no small part of my practice is with children who are dealing with school difficulties, I have met some children who (more…)