My two-year-old loves chocolate milk, especially in the morning with breakfast. Every day she asks for a big glass to drink with her fruit and toast. Most mornings I mix it up for her, but one morning we were out of chocolate syrup. Tragedy followed. The crying and the gnashing of teeth, the wallowing on… The post The Comfort of Discomfort for Both Parents and Children appeared first on First Things First.| First Things First
How Families Turn Exposure into Opportunity: Here's what my friend told me over coffee last week. “They have so many opportunities,” he said about the teens he mentors. “If I had half the opportunities around me at your age that you do right now… I would not be sitting where I am.” I asked him what was holding them back. He answered with one word: “Exposure.”| First Things First
Looking for help in your relationships? With First Things First, you'll have simple, research-based tools at your fingertips!| First Things First
I received a phone call from a concerned grandfather, parent and community leader recently. He said he and his wife have been volunteering at several elementary schools in the area, and there’s one glaring factor that school faculty are concerned about: Parents seem to be more concerned about whether or not their kids like them… The post Should Parents Care If Their Kids Like Them or Not? appeared first on First Things First.| First Things First
Sometimes my inner critic has a megaphone. Like when I’m late to first grade pickup or send an email with a typo. When does your inner critic show up? When you say the wrong thing in a meeting? At breakfast when you’ve burned the toast? Or maybe you’re in a season of high stress and your inner critic is consistently whispering… You could be doing more or better in life… You need to be more focused at work and at home… Why did you do that?| First Things First
Recent events (both near and far) have led me to question one small little word with a big bite: “hate.” My son’s school had to go into lockdown mode while we were having an outdoor celebration breakfast for his class. Nothing was going on at the school, but only a couple of blocks down the… The post How We Learn to Hate and How We Can Stop appeared first on First Things First.| First Things First
There’s a story I tell myself about my childhood. It goes something like this: I was a pretty easy kid. My parents loved each other. My siblings and I had some spats here and there, but nothing too out of the ordinary. We laughed a lot. There were Saturday morning cartoons, tons of playing together… The post Understanding the Stories We Tell Ourselves About Our Childhood appeared first on First Things First.| First Things First
According to a global team of researchers, people who meet their romantic partners online tend to be a little less satisfied in their relationships than people who meet the old-fashioned way, through friends, work, or a random meet-cute at the grocery store.| First Things First
The post How “Therapy Culture” has Increased Mom Guilt appeared first on First Things First.| First Things First
For parents worried about their kids' future, here are ways to help young adults reach milestones, on a timeline that fits real life.| First Things First
research confirms popularity isn’t the goal. It’s more beneficial to build relational depth with a few close people.| First Things First
My brother and I had a lengthy conversation this week about mental health. We both work in what I’ll call “high-impact” jobs, though they seem worlds apart. Some days, coping and processing the stress can feel like mental gymnastics, flipping and stretching the capacities of our mental health. According to a 2016 meta-analysis on mental… The post The Low Down on Mental Health, Stress and Family Genetics appeared first on First Things First.| First Things First
When is the right time to talk to kids about tragedies and how do we respond when they find out before we’ve had a chance to prepare them?| First Things First
