“'I can’t do anything right!'
'Nobody likes me!'
'I’m the worst kid in the world!'

​As parents, hearing the children we love make such viciously self-critical comments is heart-breaking. Our first instinct is to rush to contradict them. “That’s not true, Honey!” we exclaim. Trying to reassure our kids, we quickly marshal example after example of their talent and specialness. But the more we tell our self-doubting kids, “You’re wonderful!”, the harder they argue, “I’m terrible!” No matter how sincere and well-meaning our pep talks are, they just never seem to sink in when our children are struggling with low self-esteem."

Read the rest of this great article on Psychology Today.

"Surveys show that something like 70 percent of Americans believe that children, at least sometimes, deserve to be spanked. Just writing that sentence makes me sick to my stomach: all those big adults hitting kids. Even worse, some researchers tell us that over 90 percent of preschoolers are spanked by an adult at least once in any two year span, and 30 percent of children one-year-old and under have been spanked. Who could hit a baby?

Spanking is hitting. Hitting is violence. Violence is morally wrong and I believe that the US should join the 48 nations that have made spanking illegal."

Click here to read the rest of this great post on Teacher Tom's blog.

"One could be excused if she were to come away from reading this blog with the idea that I'm not just pro-child, but also at least a little anti-adult. This is not true. After all, I am an adult myself. I like being an adult. In fact, if my fairy godmother presented me with a choice, I'd opt for adulthood in a heartbeat. There are certainly things I admire about children, like their boundless energy, short memories, and their ability to live for the moment, but I wouldn't trade away my adult advantages for any of it. Like I sometimes say to the kids, 'The best thing about being an adult is that you get to eat ice cream whenever you want.'"

Click here to read the rest of this article on Teacher Tom's Blog.

"One of the things that makes parenting so tough is that we don’t always see the effects of what we do straight away. Sometimes, getting it right can look the same as getting it wrong, and other times they can masquerade as each other. Are our boundaries too loose? Too tight? Do our words nurture their growth? Make them question their worth? Is this a time for consequences? Connection? How do I have both? "

Click here to read the rest of this article on heysigmund.com.