Consider applying these five principles offered by Jen A. Miller in the NYTimes when setting goals for your or your child's behavior. The article relates to New Year resolutions but can be applied to all those things we wish to target for change in ourselves or our children. A word of advice in applying these: BE KIND; we are all works in progress. SMART Specific: Set concrete, clearly defined goals with specific points of success. Measurable: Whatever the goal is, find ways

Helping your family thrive is a big job. It's a mix of increasing resources and decreasing adversity while building resiliency that promotes confidence, competence, and the ability for you and your children to "land on your feet" in challenging and overwhelming circumstances. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University suggests three critical principles necessary for families to thrive: reduce source of stress, strengthen core life skills, and support responsive

A thought provoking take on one of the most frustrating behaviors our children can exhibit . . .

So many of us as parents and helpers of children are concerned about the levels of anxiety our children experience. This effects their health and wellbeing and undermines confidence, school performance, and relationships with family and friends. Anxiety, unaddressed, can accumulate into a toxic mix of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviors that follows your child around like Pig Pen's dust cloud in Charlie Brown. The good news, though, is that the normal anxie