On the last day of 2017, GCP wants to wish all of you a very Happy New Year! Hope the holidays have been happy, and that you and all of your amazing, delightful children have great things ahead in 2018. As I look ahead to 2018, I see that the change that has been on the horizon has arrived. [...]
Anxiety is a normal and developmentally appropriate emotion in children which can even be helpful, e.g., motivating them to study for an upcoming test. But anxiety is truly problematic and becomes a disorder when it impairs basic functioning or causes serious, often physical distress. What should we do to help our children with this? A recent Wall Street Journal [...]
As a seemingly endless stream of public figures are being fired for sexual harassment these days, the time is NOW to talk with our children about this topic. But how? There are two conversations to be had here: we need to have the "What is sexual harassment and why is it all over the news now?" conversation with all [...]
We know it is important to teach our children to be polite, to say "thank you". But are we teaching them to be grateful? A recent Wall Street Journal article found here suggests that the act of being grateful is more than just knowing when to say thank you. As noted in the article, “The word ‘thanksgiving’ means giving [...]
The school year is in full swing now. Children have settled into the work, and there are still a few solid weeks left before the holidays hit. In case you've been on autopilot, it is time to check in and see how things are going at school. Here are some tips and advice on how to check in: Connect [...]
Today's terror attack on New York City has left 8 people dead and more than 15 injured. We mourn yet another attack on innocent civilians, and we send our thoughts and prayers to the victims of this senseless attack. Usually a GCP post after a horrific event like this focuses on how to talk to your children about it. But [...]
Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City have had an impressive track record of helping students achieve impressive results on statewide reading tests. Their website boasts that this year 84% of their students (their "scholars") passed the mandatory English Language Arts (ELA) tests and 95% passed the math tests, making them the #1 school system in New York [...]
Another mass shooting, this time at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. How do we talk to our children about this tragic event? GCP has discussed this issue before, after Newton and Charleston . And now we must talk about Las Vegas. But what should we say? Experts say it depends on how old our children are: Preschool:Discuss only [...]
Worried about how your kids are getting (or not getting) along? Sibling squabbling and rivalry are to be expected in the normal course of things, but you do want them to establish a bond that stays strong when they are no longer obligated to live together under one roof. I thought a lot about this when my three children [...]
Just writing this title makes me weary and sad. Yet again we must figure out how to talk to our sons and our daughters about the acquittal of a police officer who stopped and killed a Black man for no justifiable reason. As you undoubtably know, yesterday the jury in the manslaughter trial of Officer Jeronimo Yanez acquitted him [...]