I have random memories from first days of school. I suppose that’s true for many people. One positive one is cutting grass the night before. Back then, ABC or some such station had Monday Night Baseball and I wanted to watch the Dodgers play with my mom. She loved Tommy Lasorda, him being Italian sealed…
Our first question has been selected for Joe Knows. Here’s how it works: People submit a question. A question is chosen at random by someone associated with me (or me) solely at our discretion. The question is posted and you our readers are given a week to answer and offer advice. One week after the…
Recently, I had a fun talk with a friend. I was talking about my upcoming day. “I’m going to take my wife to do a little necessary shopping, then take her for a pedicure and my girls to get their nails painted.” “At a nail salon?” “Yep,” I replied preparing to move onto the next…
When difficult things happen, people often lump all of them into trials or bad things happening. But the truth is often much more complicated than that. Too often, we reap consequences that are difficult. Those consequences are the result of something we did. That’s not a trial. That’s life. If I blow all of my…
One of the most common discussions I have when I talk to people is “How do I handle my in-laws when it comes to my kids?” Just this morning, I heard about a couple who has parents disagreeing with their “sick” policy. You know those conversations. They usually go something like this: You: Oh, we…
One of things that parents complain to me about is that their kids don’t seem to understand _______________. Once, I get past the frustration level, what I usually find is that parents are bothered by the facts that their kids don’t think like little adults. They are frustrated because their kids don’t seem to have…
I want to lose 50 pounds…. I want to write a novel… I want to travel to France… I want to help children in Africa… I want to start a small business… I want my marriage to be better than it is… I want my relationship with my child/parent to be restored… We all have…
Continuing on with the idea of looking at other people's writings for some conversation fodder. I thought we would visit my friend Dean Dorman's blog. Dean is a local therapist and I have the privilege of calling this skilled clinician a friend. He has a book coming out in the not so distant future about…
I bought this book on a lark. I am glad that I did. Rom Brafman points out that for as nearly as long as can be remembered in mental health services that what happened to you dictated what you did. By and large, he states, “The prevailing notion in the field used to be that…
People wonder why I am so adamant about not indulging in these types parenting techniques. My post on the gentleman that shot his daughters computer generated a lot of discussion on here and on my personal Facebook page. This little girl died and my fear is that if she had not died, then people would…
