Dear Katherine, I’ve often heard you talk about why controlling forms of discipline and punishments are ineffective. But what about when kids are in danger? Thankfully, I have yet to be in this specific position. Still, my kids are getting older. I’m worried about protecting them throughout their teen years without resorting to authoritarian discipline […]

Dear Katherine, My three children are 16, 13, and 9. They are all very social, but each child has a different curfew and different rules for social time.  The 13-year-old is very upset that we won’t let her go to a party that ends at 11 p.m. She says that we would let our 16-year-old […]

Dear Katherine, My 5-year-old daughter has always disliked being told what to do. Now that we’re changing our approach to the parent-child relationship, she’s convinced that she was right all along about being able to do whatever she wants.  When we give her even a little bit of freedom, she tries to take as much […]

Dear Katherine, When my two children are home from school, they don’t want to do anything. I try to get them involved in activities or camps (or at the very least encourage them to leave the house with me!) but they outright refuse. Then they complain that they’re bored! My older daughter, who is 13, […]

‘Twas the night before Christmas, And all through your home, Your little ones are stirring, They won’t leave each other alone!  You went the extra mile  To bring holiday joy But it’s not what you pictured …it’s all about toys!  If that isn’t how the poem goes…it really should be!  A quiet, peaceful Christmas Eve […]

Dear Katherine, My son is very nervous whenever we’re apart. When he’s at school, he wants me to be working from home so he knows that I’m there. Even if I’m just around the block, he stresses out about it.  He’s afraid that I won’t come back or that I won’t come to pick him […]

Dear Katherine,  Our second baby was born only a few weeks before the pandemic began.  I know my older son loves his baby brother, but I’m fearful that in addition to dealing with the huge adjustment of having a baby in the house, he associates his brother’s arrival with the negativity of the pandemic.  My […]

Dear Katherine, It’s our first holiday season since joining the Conscious Parenting Revolution, and I’m nervous about how my extended family will react to our new parenting style.  We’ll be spending Christmas with a large group, and I’m concerned that other family members’ tendency toward authoritarian discipline will confuse my children or undo some of […]

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!  Parenthood gives us so much to be grateful for every day—even in its most challenging moments. Feeling gratitude is important, especially at this time of year. But at Thanksgiving, I find myself thinking about another core value that ties into this holiday…  Community.  Thanksgiving is a celebration of our […]

Can you relate to this scenario?   You wake up and spend 30 minutes coaxing your kid to get dressed for school while you rush to get ready for work.  They fight with you over what they want to wear, insisting on the same blue shirt they’ve worn every day this week.  You finally make it […]