Interview with Dr. Harvey Karp, author, The Happiest Toddler on the Block – by Melissa Couch Salim


Dr. Harvey Karp is one of America's most-trusted pediatricians and child development experts. He is also the founder and CEO of Happiest Baby, a smart-tech company, creator of SNOO and other parenting solutions.  Dr. Karp practiced pediatrics in Los Angeles for over 25 years. He is on the faculty of ...

’True Mothers’ (Japanese movie w/subtitles): Review by Hannah Singer


I am an adoptive mom of an 8th grader, adopted from birth, just like the adoptive parents in this movie. When I was offered to review this movie, I was somewhat reluctant. Even after all these years, I am sensitive to the situation. Basically, I didn’t want to be upset or ...

Raising Your Spirited Baby by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D. (Book Excerpt)


Excerpt from RAISING YOUR SPIRITED BABY by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D. Copyright © 2020 by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. Used with permission by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.   Chapter 3 What Do I Need to Stay Calm So I Can Calm My Baby? Untangling Our Emotions, Reframing Our Experiences, ...

Be All In: Raising Kids for Success in Sports and Life by Christie Pearce Rampone and Dr. Kristine Keane (Book Excerpt)


Giving Honest Feedback It is so hard to give negative feedback, especially to our children.  Research on management consistently shows that leaders tend to avoid giving feedback, especially negative or corrective feedback.2 This holds true for parenting as well. Parents are afraid of hurting their children’s feelings or doing damage to ...

Mindfulness: Free the Past and the Future by Sez Kristiansen, author, Inspired Mama (Book Excerpt)


My son started daycare as soon as I took up work again. I felt our connection slip away, so I decided to make “Mama and Mathias time” once a week. Sometimes it was just a morning, while other times it was a whole day; I devoted time to just being ...

But They Are Such Cute Little Narcissists……by Kristen Howerton, author, Rage Against The Minivan (Book Excerpt)


They’re awful people. They’re tiny, tiny little Hitlers, all of them......Donald Glover   If I had to sum up motherhood in one philosophical statement it would be this: They come out of the womb as narcissists, and you have eighteen years to try to change that. If, by the time they move out ...

How to Beat Stress: The Scientific Guide to Being Happy by Alyssa Shaffer (Book Excerpt)


Excerpted from How to Beat Stress: The Scientific Guide to Being Happy by Alyssa Shaffer, published March 2020 by Centennial Books.    When I was 15, I’m pretty sure my biggest source of stress was whether my parents would finally allow me to get my own (landline) phone in my bedroom. My twins ...

THE HIGHLY SENSITIVE PARENT: Be Brilliant in Your Role, Even When the World Overwhelms You By Elaine Aron, Ph.D. (Book Excerpt)


Emotional Regulation Since you are going to feel more deeply as a parent because of your innately greater emotional responsiveness, you need to become an expert in emotional regulation. Because of your depth of processing, once you have thought through emotional regulation, I think you’ll be better at it than ...

Smash Your Parenting iShoulds by Amber Trueblood, author, Stretch Marks (Book Excerpt & Giveaway)


Chapter One SMASH YOUR iSHOULDS All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas layin’ in the sun, talking ‘bout the things they woulda-coulda-shoulda done... But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas all ran away and hid from one little did.  Shel Silverstein I have this one stretch mark that’s longer and wider than all the rest. When I lay on my ...

The Grip of Childhood by Cecile David-Weill, author, Parents Under the Influence (Book Excerpt)


Like it or not, we have no more control over our role as par­ents than we do over whom we “choose” to fall in love with. Just as in some measure we fall for partners based on our childhood rather than on our conscious desires as adults, we instinctively model ...