Seven items parents should check on now to improve kid’s learning success mid-year. That crucial second school semester is in full bloom. Mid-year is when parents alike have a good idea about how their kids are doing in school – which subjects are hard or easy and how they like their teachers. This is also [...]

Parenting advice to help our children’s develop “stick-to-itness” and a strong work ethic Many historians feel that one of Winston Churchill’s greatest speeches was given at a graduation ceremony at Oxford University. Churchill had worked on the speech for hours trying to figure out the key message he wanted to convey to the graduates. When [...]

Of course we worry about our kids. It’s only natural to do so. We love our children more than life itself and want them to be happy and successful, and when they aren’t it hurts. When we see our kids struggle, have trouble fitting in, or recognize that they are somehow noticeably “different” from their [...]

Parenting tips to help kids recognize a key to success: “Learn from your failures.” Our first step is erasing the belief: “Mistakes are bad!” Do you want your child to succeed? (And what parent doesn’t.) Then know this: kids cannot learn to persevere, unless they recognize how to deal with failure. Mistakes can be a [...]

Parenting tips I shared on TODAY for kids who procrastinate, dawdle, cut corners or just take the easy way. It’s the makeover no parent should put off! Sound like  your kid? “I don’t care!  I quit – this is too hard.”  “Why don’t YOU do it?” Is his backpack a disaster, homework always a battle and everything [...]

The right questions and what to do to boost your child’s learning success. Parenting tips I shared on TODAY show. If you’ve just received a memo from your child’s school that your parent-teacher conference has been scheduled, you’re not alone. Over the next weeks millions of parents will be walking into those classrooms to sit [...]

Parenting tips to minimize our nagging and maximizing their learning …until they can finally do homework solo style! “You can’t make me!” “Why do I have to do homework?” “Can’t I pleeeeease just go to bed?” Homework time in many families can be very stressful and tension-filled for both child and parent. According to a [...]

6 Steps to Take When Your Child and his Teacher Just Can’t Get Along What should you do when your child doesn’t like his teacher? Should you call the principal or sit on the class? Or should you brush it off as a normal childhood grievance and move on? The steps to take to help [...]

Academic success impacts our children for the rest of their life: it influences their self-esteem, college selections, job attainment, financial success, and even their choice of spouses. It’s no wonder we go great lengths to give our kids an academic edge. Despite our good intentions we often overlook a few simple strategies that research has [...]

Though back to school should be exciting, parents often describe frantic mornings, hectic evenings, and plain bad memories. Homework wars…lost library books…last-minute assignments…missed buses…sleepy heads…forgotten lunches…missed breakfasts…late starts are just a few of the  common parenting concerns. The result: stressed parents…and stressed kids. But it doesn’t have to—nor should it–be that way. There are practical [...]

Parenting advice for before, during, and after your teen’s move from home and off to college  After all the test-taking, application filling, essay editing, campus touring, and acceptance-waiting, the big event is almost here: dropping your teen off at college. You’d think that would be the easy part, but move-in day on college campuses is [...]

American Academy of Sleep Medicine estimates that 1 in 3 kids are sleep-deprived School success impacts our children for the rest of their life: it influences their self-esteem, college selections, job attainment, financial success, and even their choice of spouses. It’s no wonder we go to such great lengths to try and give our kids an academic [...]

Parenting tips to ease jitters, smooth transitions and make heading back to school less scary for kids Heading back to school is exciting for most kids but can be a bit traumatic for others. It’s only natural for children to feel a little anxious especially if you’ve just moved to town, are changing schools, repeating [...]

Many kids look forward to the summer as an opportunity to take a break from studying and just have fun. The summer is a great time for a change of pace and the new school year seems a world away. However, more reports show that when children stop eating healthy and learning over the summer [...]

Parenting tips to beat the “Summer Reading Slump” and rekindle that great love of the reading REALITY CHECK: Are you aware of that kids can lose an upward of three month’s worth of reading progress during this summer break? Are you also aware that according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average American teenagers [...]

How to curb kid test jitters, get ready for those tests, improve scores, and recognize if when to seek medical advice One of kids more dreaded four-letter words: T.E.S.T. These days it seems even for many kids even if they’ve studied hard and done their homework when test day comes they’re hit with a wave [...]

Did you know that over one billion children in the world never will receive an education—walk in a classroom door—learn their ABC’s or even basic counting and math skills–unless something drastic is done to improve their lives? We know that the best hope for improving children’s futures is education, but building classrooms, hiring teachers, or [...]

Parenting tips that teach kids to set resolutions and make them stick so they succeed!  Do you know that goal-setting is one of the most highly correlated traits of peak performers and successful individuals? But goal-setting isn’t just for grown-ups. Studies show that goal-setting can help kids gain the sense of discipline and that internal drive [...]

Why ADHD boosts vulnerability to bullying; solutions for parents and educators of special needs children. I had pleasure of speaking with Peggy Dolan from the Edge Foundation who does wonderful work on coaching students with ADHD. Here is our interview and the two part series on bullying and ADHD that Edge posted on their site with permission to duplicate. [...]

  Technology and innovative learning methods are becoming more and more common at all levels of education in the United States, from elementary school to college. Many may not realize how big of a role cutting edge ideas and technology may be playing even at the kindergarten level, however, as kids as young as five years [...]

The “unschooling” concept is fascinating. I’ve learned ages ago that there is no cookie cutter approach to educating children. The key is to find what works best to optimize each child’s learning potential. But I’ve also learned that when it comes to “unschooling” it’s a very unique parent who can succeed. (Think of young Tom [...]

Simple, proven solutions that enhance children’s learning that every parent should have in their back to school toolbox and none of them cost a dime! Academic success impacts our children for the rest of their life: it influences their self-esteem, college selections, job attainment, financial success, and even their choice of spouses. It’s no wonder [...]

The Kids Are NOT All Right Folks! Report shows U.S. college freshman stress hitting record high levels and their mental health plummeting to a 25 year all-time low. Findings and solutions I shared on the TODAY Show last week. We spend all that time drop our kids off college and promise them that they’re going [...]

11 proven and surprising benefits of child-directed (aka unscheduled and spontaneous) play for our stressed-out, over-supervised kids. Okay folks, I’m concerned. Over the last few weeks I’ve been reviewing studies involving children and play. “Shocked” and “disturbed” are the two words that describe how I feel when reading those reports. Every study reaches one sad conclusion: [...]

Parenting advice to help kids and teens learn healthy ways to handle stress as they get ready to start a new year (and bust some of that tension the holidays seem to bring on). Think stress is just for adults? Not these days. Research finds that between 8 and 10 percent of American children and [...]

Four crucial–and sometimes overlooked–areas that affect learning and how to check them to see how your child is doing. Parenting advice and simple tips I shared this morning on the TODAY show to help your child have a more successful school year The honeymoon period is over and the school year is in full swing. [...]

14 Parenting tips to help you get beyond the “Nope,”  ”Yep,” and “Fine” kid response Does trying to get your kids to open up about their day feel like an inquisition? Do you feel like you’re giving your kid the third degree to tell you anything about their life? If so, studies show that using [...]

NBC is featuring a week-long focus on education. This morning on the TODAY show parents had the opportunity to call, email or skype in parenting questions about their children’s education. I appeared as the TODAY parenting contributor along with a fabulous high school chemistry teacher from Los Angeles and an incredible principal from the Baltimore [...]

Parenting tips to nip school problems and kid stress in the bud now for a better year School is now in full swing, the “honeymoon period” is over and studies say kid stress is mounting. This is the time to check in on how your child is doing and nip any problems in the bud. [...]

Parenting advice to help disorganized, forgetful kids get organized and for kids with shorter attention spans who need to “reclutter” and learn routines “My daughter is sweet and loving but hopelessly disorganized. I’m always picking up forgotten homework assignments, putting school into her backpack and reminding her of his schedule. I worry that she’ll need [...]

Parenting advice I shared with Matt Lauer this morning on the TODAY show: ways to help reduce kid’s back to school jitters, minimize anxieties and ease those transitions so they can focus on the real subject: learning! Heading back to school is exciting for most kids but can be a bit traumatic for others. It’s [...]

10 tips to boost the right involvement in children’s education so parents make the grade I’m in the MSNBC studios right now as a panelist taking part in a two hour special about the crisis in education called “Making the Grade.” The line up of experts is extraordinary. But the problem is mind-boggling: Every 26 [...]

Do you want to watch some of the best young minds of today face courage under enormous pressure? Then forget the Laker Games, Soccer’s Word Cup, Dancing with the Stars or even (I know, I know…) American Idol. It’s the National Spelling Bee and it airs tonight. Set that TiVO or put those chairs for your [...]

“Why should I bother? You know they won’t choose me.” “What’s the point? I’ll never make the team.” “Why are you making me go? You know I won’t have fun.” Let’s face it: Kids with pessimistic attitudes are among the most frustrating breeds. They give up easily, believe anything they do won’t make a difference, [...]

New research shows that children who can pass up a marshmallow are more likely to succeed as adults. But why? Here’s the secret every teacher and parent should know… The Famous Marshmallow Test and Implications on Our Kids’ Later Success In 1960, Walter Mischel, a psychologist at Stanford University, conducted the now famous Marshmallow Test. Mischel [...]

It’s that time again for one of kids more dreaded four-letter    words: T.E.S.T. These days it seems even for many kids even  if they’ve studied hard and done their homework when test  day comes they’re hit with a wave of panic. Butterflies hit  their stomach and their heads are filled with a wave of [...]

Academic success impacts our children for the rest of their life: it influences their self-esteem, college selections, job attainment, financial success, and even their choice of spouses. It’s no wonder we go great lengths to give our kids an academic edge. But the good news is that parents can give their kids the edge they [...]

REALITY CHECK: In a national survey only 25 percent of teachers described their experience working with parents as “very satisfying.” Thirty-one percent cite parents and communicating with their as their biggest challenge. So approach that teacher as a partner in helping your child become the best he or she can be. You just received a [...]

Disorganized child? If so help is on the way with the just-published, Organizing the Disorganized Child  Michele Borba Is your child’s backpack always a mess? Is your son always losing his assignment book (let alone know where it is to begin)? Are mornings frantic as your daughter runs around in circles trying to find last [...]

Michele Borba, Ed.D. REALITY CHECK  Reports say that Attention Deficit Disorder (or ADD) affects up to nine[ii] percent of school-age children, but even then the medical field fears that only half of those have been properly diagnosed. Parents currently spend[i] over one billion three hundred million each year on buying one of the three leading [...]

By Michele Borba Of course you want a great day care for your child. But how to you know which facility is the best one for your child? My strongest recommendation: Observe a few. And always observe when children are there. It will help you decide if it’s a place you want your child to [...]