FREE WEBINAR | Helping Children Learn To Listen

helping children learn to listen

In my many years of working with young children, there is one question I hear frequently from parents and teachers: How do I get children to listen to me? When we are confronted with tantrums, defiant behavior, or worse, it’s difficult to know what to do. But these situations are usually avoidable, or at least […]


BOOK REVIEW | Why Don’t We Listen Better?

Book review Why don't we listen better

Do you have a book that you tend to go back to time and time again? Jim Petersen’s book, Why Don’t We Listen Better?, is one where I find so much inspiration. In college I majored in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication. After I graduated most people would ask, what kind of major is that? Today […]


Listening And Following The Adult

listening and following the adult

Children naturally want to connect to the adults in their lives.  Obedience to these adults is a sign of natural and normal development in a child. Obedience, though, does not refer to an automatic and unthinking response to an order. Obedience, comes from the Latin, oboediere, meaning to listen to.  When the relationship is built […]


What Teachers Wish Parents Knew

what teachers wish parents knew

At a teachers’ conference a couple of years ago we broke into groups to answer the following question: What are the most important ideas you’d like to communicate to parents of the children you teach? Here are the thoughts from over one hundred teachers and school administrators. Respect the work of your child. Children are […]


Children Love Quiet

children love quiet

Somehow between Madison Avenue and Hollywood, and all the places where kiddie culture is fed, we’re given the view that children are rowdy and eternally needing to be entertained. Picture a scene of children getting out from school. What do you imagine? More than likely it’s children shouting and running from the school building. Though […]


Noise Surrounds Us

noise surrounds us

Blaise Pascal, the 17th century philosopher and mathematician, wrote, ”All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” Almost 300 years later and human misery still stems from not being able to listen to oneself think. An edition of Ode magazine was dedicated to the topic of silence. Several […]


Helping Your Child Learn To Listen

helping your child learn to listen

“You can’t help your child learn anything if you don’t teach them to listen and pay attention. That’s what you have to do first.” I overheard Tricia, a mother of three, as she visited with a father at a parent get-together. Afraid of breaking a child’s spirit, we are sometimes reluctant to “make” a child […]


See It In Your Child Video: The Child’s Need To Belong

the child's need to belong

We all need to feel like we belong. Children’s behavior is directed towards getting the emotional connection of belonging. Watch this video to learn about four basic, yet unconscious, goals that drive our children’s behavior. You’ll learn how these goals, when met, make for a child who is happy, cooperative, self-motivated and self-aware. Download the accompanying […]


Priceless Presents

Do you ever worry about selecting the right gift for the special people in your life? Let’s take a few minutes to consider gifts that are free, yet priceless. Download the article and audio recording below: ARTICLE: Priceless Presents AUDIO: Priceless Presents Leave your comments below!


Gaining Cooperation

Gaining cooperation

“How many times have I told you…?” How would you complete the sentence? Perhaps one or several of these: Shut the door. Remember your lunch. Wash your hands. Set the table for dinner. Walk in the house. The list goes on and on. When we feel that our children are not listening to us—they become […]