How to explain a tragic death of a classmate to their peers and friends Last year a  tragic fire touched the Windward School community in Connecticut –three children and their grandparents perished. This week a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut killing twenty school children and their teachers. Our hearts [...]

The images of SWAT teams marching onto Chardon High School to rescue students from a student shooter sent shock waves through us all. The scene was déjà vu: Columbine—again—and our worse nightmare revisited. As of this post, three students have died at the hands of a student shooter. The shooting occurred after a steady drop [...]

Parenting advice to help soothe kid worries about the Norway tragedy and tips to talk about the tragedy with your children The horrific shooting spree in Norway last weekend which killed 80 people – most of them young people –  has left adults shocked and a world shaken. But let’s not forget our kids. They [...]

Parenting advice I shared on the TODAY show on how to talk to kids about troubling news and reduce their fears and jitters about world events Tsunamis. Radiation leaks. Earthquakes. Nuclear meltdowns. Air strikes. If you are feeling a bit jittery about the news lately, imagine how our kids must feel. We know that constantly [...]

I’m sure you’ve read those dismal reports about job insecurities: the U.S. unemployment rate is now at the highest level since 1993. We are stressed and worried and rightly so, but so too are our kids. I’ve received a number of email queries lately from parents asking for guidance. And did a segment on the [...]