I just learned about the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. If you’re unfamiliar with it, wabi-sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection. A wealth of literature shows that the extreme value placed on youth and physical perfection in our culture extracts a huge cost on girls and women. The quest to hold on to our [...]
Your marriage may be ending but your love for your children is a forever love. Your children will take their cues from you as to how to approach the divorce and their new life going forward. You can make it easier on them by working with a mediator to create a detailed joint parenting plan [...]
Raising teenagers has always been complicated and often emotionally trying. The unique aspects of the teen years make divorce even more difficult for kids to process. Teenagers are at a state where they are working to separate themselves from their parents and develop their own identity. In order to keep this process on track during [...]
It’s the end of January and all that’s left of the holidays are the credit card bills. Looking back at the holidays, are you disappointed that you didn’t get what you wanted? I’m not talking about the right gift, but rather the experience of connecting with family and friends. Driven by movies, TV shows and [...]
Unlike their younger siblings, preteens have a much greater understanding of the concept of divorce and they are more likely to have peers with divorced parents. However, just because they understand it better, doesn’t mean they accept it. Children in this age group have rigid moral views (as you know if you have ever played a [...]
Unlike their younger siblings, preteens have a much greater understanding of the concept of divorce and they are more likely to have peers with divorced parents. However, just because they understand it better, doesn’t mean they accept it. Children in this age group have rigid moral views (as you know if you have ever played a [...]
It’s as predictable as the ball dropping over Time Square: make a resolution to address the current problem area in our lives. Lose weight. Stop smoking. Shop less. We all view the new year as an opportunity to reinvent the less desirable aspects of ourselves. Unfortunately, for most people, making a resolution is the easy part. [...]
One thing that’s as familiar to the holiday season as Christmas carols and cold weather is the overwhelming crush of advertising. Ads for everything from clothes to jewelry to toys to cars confront us every time we turn our TV, open the newspaper or go online.As parents, the holidays are a challenging time as we [...]
Rituals and traditions provide us with a connection to our families. While the holidays aren’t the only opportunities to create family traditions, they do offer a unique opportunity to creating lasting, positive memories. Think about memories from your own holidays as a child: Did you visit grandparents? Were certain foods always made at the holidays? Did [...]
At early ages, the way that children experience the world evolves at a rapid pace. This evolution includes the way that children experience the divorce of their parents. Children in the early elementary years understand and experience divorce in a much more sophisticated manner than younger children; however, they are still young enough to require [...]
