April was Alcohol Responsibility Month. Throughout the month of April we learned many useful things about talking to our children about responsible alcohol use. The timing was right on. As mentioned in my previous post, Talking to Your Kids About Responsible Alcohol Use, I’m currently planning my wedding. Throughout this...

“What’s in your cup?” “Can I have a sip?” “Why can’t kids drink?” Kids are full of questions about the world around them. From a young age they have a curiosity that just won’t quit. It starts with the ‘why’ phase where everything you say is met with a ‘why’...

90 percent of parenting is touching gross stuff. From diapers to too many turkey legs at a theme park, I spent the first ten years I had kids with a wet wipe in one hand and a bottle of disinfectant in the other. The other ten percent of parenting is...

April was Alcohol Responsibility Month – check out what CEO & President of Classroom Champions had to say about the impact of hearing from Athlete Mentors about saying YES to a healthy lifestyle and NO to underage drinking. “Classroom Champions teaches students to be the champions of their futures” Whenever...

I have two young teen daughters. Much of my parenting efforts for them focus on confidence. I want them to be confident in their body image, confident in their school work, and just confident in their unique strengths as women. Until I started reading the Responsibility.org site, I hadn’t realized I’d...

There is no way anything gets past my daughter. This 8 year old sees, hears, and questions everything. The phrase, “Little pitchers have big ears,” could have been coined about her. One recent evening, my daughter was wondering why the other adults at the table were having wine with dinner...

None of my kids are particularly sporty. I’m not surprised, or disappointed. I’m not particularly sporty either. We’re a bookish family. We like to hike and bike and do all sorts of things together that don’t involve going to games and practices. We aren’t particularly sporty but we are still...

When I was little, I was always told “you can do anything you set your mind to.” That sounds like a really outlandish statement to a 10 year-old. What do you mean anything? It’s such a broad, seemingly unattainable, daunting, statement. It makes your mind go in a million different...

What does it take to be a great coach? One of the key components to great coaching is learning to be a trusted guide. At their core, a coach must consider constantly communicating positive praise. The advice I would give educators and parents about being a trusted adult for students...

My daughter is just months away from becoming a teenager. She is counting down the days to 13 and chomping at the bit for freedom and independence. While I give her as much as I can, I still have rules and expectations for my (still) 12 year old. Some days,...