How to Plan a Quick Family Vacation

Have you started realizing you sound like your mother a little too often? This might mean it’s time for you and the kids to change things up a bit. Often a quick escape to fresh surroundings does the trick nicely. “When everyone starts acting squirrely and I feel that ‘Calgon, take me away’ moment coming […]

How to Raise Generous Children

You can certainly make an impact in the world by donating money and time to nonprofits and investing in companies that share your values. But, if you want to exponentially multiply your impact, you have to get your whole family involved in giving. In a recent study on giving in retirement, Merrill Lynch asked thought […]

7 Things Your Child’s Elementary School Teachers Want You to Know

Elementary school begins with eagerness and nerves, jam-kissed sendoffs and maybe a couple of tears (likely yours) as your “big” girl or boy marches into the classroom for the first time. The six years from kindergarten through fifth grade are marked by rapid social, emotional and intellectual growth. Pants and coats are outgrown (or lost) […]

7 Things Your Child’s Elementary School Teachers Want You to Know

Elementary school begins with eagerness and nerves, jam-kissed sendoffs and maybe a couple of tears (likely yours) as your “big” girl or boy marches into the classroom for the first time. The six years from kindergarten through fifth grade are marked by rapid social, emotional and intellectual growth. Pants and coats are outgrown (or lost) […]

The True Cost of Giving Kids a 'Perfect Childhood'

It’s natural to want to give your children the best — perhaps a top-notch education to give them a leg up later in life or some of the luxuries you didn’t have growing up. The problem is that these days, the ways we can indulge our children are virtually limitless. The spending frenzy begins quite […]

The True Cost of Giving Kids a ‘Perfect Childhood’

It’s natural to want to give your children the best — perhaps a top-notch education to give them a leg up later in life or some of the luxuries you didn’t have growing up. The problem is that these days, the ways we can indulge our children are virtually limitless. The spending frenzy begins quite […]

8 Apps for Parents

Technology can be a blessing and a curse for parents of young children. We try to limit screen time, but sometimes handing over a smartphone or tablet to a little one is the only way to get through a meal out in a restaurant or a long flight. Luckily, there are some great educational apps out there for those […]

Do Your Kids Spend Enough Time Daydreaming?

Scott Barry Kaufman believes having a dream you’re passionate about is fundamental to future success — and childhood daydreaming might just be the key. The scientific director of the Imagination Institute and researcher and lecturer in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania is working to expand our definitions and understanding of intelligence and creativity. […]

How to Motivate Teens (Really!)

You know the scene: you ask your teen to do something, anything — complete his homework, put away her phone during dinner — and you’re met with an eye roll, an argument, or a begrudging “Fine,” which really means, “I’ll do it but I hate you for asking.” Teens are between childhood and adulthood, between […]

Is Co-Sleeping Best for Baby?

When you’re a new mom, there is one topic that tends to dominate most of your conversations: sleep. How’s the baby sleeping? How are you sleeping? Where does the baby sleep? For how long? How do you get the baby to fall asleep? Do you sleep when the baby sleeps? And on and on and […]