The extravagant generosity of family and friends results in a post-holiday embarrassment of riches for many American children. Toy chests already bursting at the seams are now challenged by the influx of a new slew of toys. New parents may be surprised to learn that Toy Management is a skill they’ll use for years to come. Every family needs a system for making a child’s favorite toys easily accessible. In the case of children’s toys, less is definitely more. A child with three toys will play the

The week between Christmas and New Years has long been my favorite time of the year. When I was a child, it was a chance to enjoy nonstop the toys I got from Santa before the demands of a school schedule got in the way of my uninterrupted playtime. At this point in my life, I relish that “week between” as a chance to catch my breath before facing the demands of the New Year. It’s a great time to reflect on lessons learned in the year just ending and to set goals for the year ahead. Some of life

It was a noisy scene with lots of folks around having a generally good time at a holiday event. Wondering how such a little fellow would handle the chaos, I walked over to where two-month-old Jacob was propped in his bouncy seat near his mom. What I saw in Jacob amazed me. Instead of being overwhelmed by the party around him, he had a laser focus on his mom’s face. He was relaxed and happy as he gazed adoringly at her face. Jacob conveyed to me this truth about babies in general: As long as they

A dad shared his regret at not being home more when his children were tiny. While he succeeded professionally, he thinks his relationships with his 4 and 6 year-old daughters are beyond repair. A mother told me her 5 year-old won’t stay in his own bed. Every night she runs a relay, returning him to his bed time and again. It’s her own fault, she moans. She loved cuddling him to sleep as an infant, and now he can’t sleep without her. According to this mom, she’s ruined him for sleep for all time.

The 9-year-old towhead leaned into his airplane window watching the scurry of baggage handlers below. His mom sat in the middle as I approached and asked if the aisle seat was available. She quickly nodded yes with a smile, and then asked me an unexpected question: “Excuse me, my son has a severe peanut allergy. Are you planning to eat nuts on the flight?” I assured her I wasn’t and sat beside her, asking her to tell me more about her son. She explained that the airline had promised to serve no

Walk into most preschool classrooms in America, and you’re sure to see it: that oversized calendar near the floor, accessible to four-year olds, where children are led through a recitation of the days of the week and the months of the year, as well as a counting of the dates in the month. From an early age, especially in this country, we’re determined to understand and focus on the passage of time. Many Europeans chuckle over our obsession with timeliness, and folks from South America and Africa

You plan a lovely outing to an art museum, hoping to awaken the Michelangelo in their hearts. A week later, you share the story of your field trip with a friend, feeling a bit smug about your family’s brilliant foray into the world of fine art. Playing nearby, your enthusiastic eight-year old pipes up with a big grin: "You wouldn't believe how loud the toilets flushed in the bathroom there!" Wow. So the one compelling memory of this carefully planned afternoon was of the plumbing volume. So much

Being a parent starts with our letting go of the baby from the womb in order to be able to hold onto him in our arms. And that’s just the beginning. The journey of parenthood consists of learning when to hold on and when to let go of our children. Robert Frost’s poem “Wild Grapes” describes a young girl and her big brother picking wild grapes growing in the crown of a birch tree. Because she was small, he had to hold a branch down for her to reach them. Once she grasped the branch, he let go,

“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” This adage has been confirmed by science demonstrating the power of the influence parents have on the development of their children. Every day I see the truth of this notion, observing children who reflect the training of their parents. Kids of thoughtful parents express their own thoughtfulness in the kindness they display on the playground. The offspring of musicians sing with beautiful voices in a children’s choir. But here’s a parallel truth:

Parents, if you watch television this evening with your children in the room, you’d best stand ready with your thumb on the remote, ready to hit the power button. Am I expecting a scene of graphic horror or sordid pornography? No, but I’m quite sure your television will carry a political attack advertisement. Even as you daily teach him how to behave kindly and with respect, he will see our political leaders at their very worst. He will listen as they vilify one another in a way that would never