Parenting is improv theater

Young children have no problem letting things go. It's a flaw built up over time, and it takes us years to unlearn it as adults.To correct a behavior, parents intuitively reprimand them when something wrong happens. We correct in the now what was done in the past.It creates a strong bond between how we feel now and what happened then—a strong connection between the outcome, our feelings about the outcome, and the past performance.While this is not entirely...

Living with an 18-month-old is never boring. My son, Lucas, swings from one mood to another in less time than it took me to write the end of this sentence.One moment, he's happy reading a book. The next, he stands and tries to reach for a toy his sister plays with, but he melts down because he can't get it.The intensity and the pace of the scene reveal its obvious absurdity.However, we often fail to recognize it when it happens to us adults with slightly different...

It was super windy last weekend, and I was a bit agitated. I was on my way out to join my family at the playground. But as I was stepping past the wooden gate (I built it myself, and I'm a bit proud of it), I decided to go back and grab a football.Four steps away from the gate. That was far enough for me to be too far to catch it as the wind slammed it shut.Well, it did more than that. It ripped off the plank that was supposed to stop the gate. I looked in...

Kids get excited about things that are very different from those of adults.You probably remember your kid's first birthday. The members of the extended family all wanted to spoil her. They brought fun gifts. Useful and useless ones. They brought toys recommended by the best parent influencers.They looked at your child with excitement, as she was unwrapping the gifts with you. But she didn't seem to... care? "No, no don't play with the wrapping paper!...

Life is tough. Most weeks come with their share of issues. From a tiny aggravation to an enormous problem.Human beings have been trying to find ways to accept it since... well, probably since around the time our species began to exist.We have healthy and unhealthy ways to cope. Periods when it's easier to accept that life is made of these challenges and periods when we struggle.But quasi-universally, we think that our situation is unique. We are the only ones with...