Positive Parenting for Military Families Archives - Mr. Dad

Eric Franklin, author of Peanut Butter Principles.

Topic: Leadership lessons every parent should teach his or her kids

Issues: Building the internal skill set of self-confidence, self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-control; the importance of setting, pursuing, and achieving goals; fundamental wisdom that will smooth out the bumpy journey; learning how to interact with and impact others in a positive way; gaining the wisdom and ability to improve decision-making.

Ronald Levant, author of Masculinity Reconstructed and editor of Psychology of Men and Masculinity.

Topic: The changing definition and expectations of fatherhood at work, in relationships, and in family life.

Issues: How has fatherhood changed over the past 30-40 years? The many “new” types of fathers: single, never married same sex, stay-at-home; how fathers impact their children; how has the father’s role in the family changed over the years?

Steve Biddulph, author of Raising Girls and Raising Boys.

Topics: How to help your daughter or son grow up to be happy, healthy, strong, and well-balanced.

Segment 1 (on girls): The five stages of girlhood and how to help them go smoothly; how to deal with bullying, mean girls, and social media; ways to ease the transition into the teen years; what you need to know about healthy body image, food, and eating disorders, the importance of girls’ friendships and how to support them.

Segment 2 (on boys): The three stages of boyhood and how to help them go smoothly; how testosterone changes behavior and what to do about it; how boys’ brain development differs from girls’; how to help boys cultivate a caring attitude about sex; the impact of competitive sports on boys, and how to ensure it stays positive; how to find boy-friendly schools.

Jennifer Senior, author of All Joy and No Fun.

Topic: The paradox of modern parenthood.

Issues: How children compromise the autonomy parents have grown accustomed to; how children affect parental decision making, division of labor, and can strain a marriage; the true fun in having children is just sitting back, being passive, and enjoying kids being themselves; much more.

Jonathan Catherman, author of The Manual to Manhood.

Topic: How to cook the perfect steak, change a tire, impress a girl, and 97 other survival skills for young men.

Issues: As a man in the making, you’ll need to know how to do stuff. You also need a strong moral character to back up your new abilities. Here are step-by-step instructions for just about everything you need to know.

Michelle Icard, author of Middle School Makeover.

Topic: Improving the way you and your child experience the middle school years.

Issues: Helping your kid through real middle school problems, including social media, questions about sex, mean girls (and boys), and fitting in, dealing with bullies, fashion, peer pressure, dating, independence, and more.

Quanyu Huang, author of The Hybrid Tiger.

Topic: Secrets of the extraordinary success of Asian-American Kids.

Issues: The differences between Chinese and American education; the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches; is it possible to say that one is better than the other> developing kids’ ambitions before discovering their interests.

Shimi Kang, author of The Dolphin Way.

Topic: Raising healthy, happy, motivated kids without turning into a tiger.

Issues: What happens to kids raised by Tiger parents? the skills required to succeed in the 21st Century–and how Dolphin parenting encourages their development; The importance of play and downtime; what happens to kids raised the Dolphin way?

Brandi Dion and Steven Dion, coauthors of The Pregnant Athlete.

Topic: How to stay in your best shape ever before, during, and after pregnancy.

Issues: How to gauge your limits as your pregnancy progresses; eating well to support pregnancy and fuel your workouts; common myths and misconceptions about pregnancy; finding the best workout for you.

Johanna Stein, author of How Not to Calm a Baby on a Plane.

Topic: Hilarious, real-life lessons in parenting.

Issues: Going to war against the color pink; calming your child on a plane with a barfbag puppet–that someone else had used; your first emergency room visit; the most embarrassing and satisfying moments of parenthood; why to never play a practical joke in a hospital delivery room.

Becky Beaupre Gillespie and Hollee Schwartz Temple, co-authors of Good Enough Is the New Perfect.

Topic: Finding happiness and success in modern motherhood.

Issues: Motherhood and technology; the new mommy wars; do you feel you’ve lost track of what makes you truly happy? Is it possible to “have it all”? The truth is yes—but the secret is to create an “all” that you love.

Sharon O’Donnell, author of House of Testosterone.

Topic: One mom’s survival in a household of males.

Issues: Is it tougher to raise boys than girls? The unique issues mothers face when raising boys; the frustrations moms of boys face; finding time for self in a household of males.

Frances Richey, author of The Warrior .

Topic:A mother’s story of a son at war.

Issues: How her political opinion of the war (the author was against it) shaped her relationship with her son; the experiences of waiting at home while an only child goes off to war; painful farewells; the difficulty communicating with a soldier who comes home hardened by combat.

Kristine Barnett, author of The Spark

Topic: A mother’s story of nurturing, genius, and autism

Issues: A conversation with the mother of a child whose IQ is higher than Einstein’s, taught himself calculus in two weeks, and became a paid researcher in quantum physics at age 12—but who doctors thought would never be able to tie his own shoes.

Wendy Aronsson, author of Refeathering the Empty Nest

Topic: Life after the children leave

Issues: Preparing for the shift from parent to empty-nester; navigating the confusing emotions when your youngest finally leaves home; the challenges, uncertainties, and fears; how your marriage may change; (re)learning to focus on yourself; what happens when the kids move back home

Kat Duff, author of The Secret Life of Sleep

Topic: What happens between the time you fall asleep and the time when you wake up?

Issues: What is sleep? Stages of sleep; commercialization of sleep; dreams; babies and sleep; insomnia;

Valerie Davis Raskin, coauthor of This Isn’t What I Expected

Topic: Overcoming postpartum depression

Issues: Symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) and how it’s different than “baby blues”; dealing with panic attacks, stress overload, and obsessive urges; breaking the cycle of negative thinking; coping with the loss of self-esteem, when to get help; the dad’s role in support a new mom suffering from PPD

Paula Franzese, author of A Short & Happy Guide to Being a College Student

Topic: How to be your best self in school, at work, and in life

Issues: 10 reasons to be happy about school; guideposts to live by; how to assure success and significance in school; finding your career path, applying for jobs, and handling rejection; handling conflict or adversity; how to succeed in a class that’s boring.

Alfie Kohn, author of The Myth of the Spoiled Child

Topic: Challenging the conventional wisdom about children and parenting

Issues: Parents are accused of being permissive and overprotective, unwilling to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. At the same time, young people are described as entitled and narcissistic. But there is no scientific evidence at all to support these claims.

Keri Tice, from Hofsas House Hotel in Carmel by the Sea, California

Staci Giovino, owner of Carmel Food Tours