How Can I Help My Young Kids Make Friends?

It's important for even the youngest children to make friends - it teaches them social skills that exclusive interaction with parents and siblings can't provide. Yet squabbling kids and pushy parents are enough to make you grab for the aspirin and swear off play dates forever. Before you consign your child to hermitage, read these tips for a smoother play date future.

How Do I Comfort a Child Who Feels Unpopular?

Navigating the thorny social scene of elementary and middle school can be a daunting task for any child – particularly one who feels unpopular. As a parent, it’s hard to stand helplessly by and watch your child experience bullying or social alienation. You may feel that what your child goes through at school is beyond your control, but there are ways to help her build social skills and deal with rejection and isolation.

Pros of Private School

Parents are feeling more and more pressure to give their kids an added boost when it comes to their education, fearing that if they leave it up to the public schools, their child will get lost in the crowds or their talents will go undeveloped, vaulting them into a mediocre adulthood. Many complaints such as overcrowded public schools are justified, but the question of enrolling your child in private school is worth extensive thought, and the question of cost is weights heavily.

This shift in dissatisfaction with public schools is increasing as overcrowding and poor testing results at some public schools receive more publicity.

I Quit!:What Should I Do When My Child Wants to Quit Their Extracurricular Activities?

To try to answer this question that all of us face at some point, I went out to 500 coaches, extracurricular activity teachers, and seasoned parents to gain their insights for my parenting book about kids and activity overload, Sign Me Up!. What I learned transformed my thinking about how to react when my daughter Kyle declared that she had had it with her flute and my son Brooks said he was too bored to continue a lesson longer with karate after obtaining his brown belt.

How Can I Help my Struggling Reader?

 By Stacy DeBroff

Reading is such a fundamental element of school that the first signs of struggle can be frightening. Most kids, however, usually struggle at some point, and all kids go through phases where their love for books wanes. The trick is to help your child stay upbeat and get them engage in reading what they love.

Preventing Childhood Obesity

Obesity has emerged as a serious and growing childhood disease. The statistics are astonishing: a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that 70% of kids are out of shape. From the passive entertainment of electronics to the overwhelming presence of junk and fast food, 1 out of every 4 children will struggle with childhood obesity.