Ryan came home from school today excited. His speech on the current state of health care had gone well. He had spent hours researching and organizing his thoughts on paper. Then there were the hours he spent practicing. But that’s not what this is about. It’s about socks. As Ryan was explaining the details of his presentation, he was kicking his feet behind him. I glanced at his foot as it came up and noticed that there were five, yes…
Trust…the ultimate confidence builder in kids. It requires that we let go and shift control into their hands, but the result is the development of self-esteem, competency, and independence. Giving your 3-year old a sponge so that she can help wipe up the kitchen table, and then allowing her to do the task according to her abilities, lets her know that you think she is capable. Similarly, having your teen print the What to Bring to Summer Camp list and…
All parents want their children to succeed in school. And since Kindergarten is a child’s first exposure to “formal” schooling, preparing them for success is an important first step on the academic ladder. But “preparing” our kids for academic success does not mean completing reams of worksheets and stacks of flashcards. It’s actually a lot easier than that. It simply requires looking for opportunities to seamlessly tie “lessons” into daily life. And the good news is, because these lessons are…
A recent study from Accenture found that the easiest way to get a raise or a promotion was to ask for one. Yup, 85% of those surveyed who said they had asked for a raise actually got something. It reminded me of Nathan’s recent tutoring negotiation. He was recommended, by one of his old math teachers, to the mom of a seventh grader who needed help in algebra. Her first email to Nathan did not mention the fee she was…
Nathan came down beaming into my office yesterday. He had been doing research for a project which requires him to think about his career goals. Nathan is lucky because he knows exactly what he wants to do when he “grows up”. “I can make $61,000 starting off as a Foreign Service Officer,” he said. “And in 15 years, it will have raised to over $95,000!” These numbers were different than the numbers he had shared with me the day before…