Our dear friend and colleague Dana West Carvalho passed away in October, 2018 from cancer.  Dana worked with me at For Kids’ Sake as a parent educator for 3 years. Her kindness and dedication to parents was remarkable during this time. Dana is remembered as a long – term advocate of young children and families Read More

  Using Toys as Tools “Can I just have one toy? Please?”  “Pretty please?” “Do you have a special surprise for me?”   Parents worry when their children ask for toys, seemingly all the time. They worrying their kids will become demanding and spoiled and selfish and entitled as adults. This parent lament explodes around Read More

  Sounds weird, right? I mean, what parent in their right mind would want their child to fail at anything? But research on resilient kids has demonstrated repeatedly that kids that fail in situations or tasks learn to recover and become resilient, especially if parents talk about their failure as an opportunity to learn something Read More

Soon, all across America, parents will have the opportunity to share their family traditions for the Fourth of July to their kids. What traditions will you pass along to your kids? ~Riding decorated bikes in the neighborhood parade, with playing cards clothespined to your spokes, so your bike clacks along? ~Fourth of July picnics, Aunt Read More

We have all had one of these days…mine was the day before Easter, in HEB, crowds everywhere….the two year old grandchild, in the car cart which is difficult to steer, and has crashed into 3 aisle displays, so far. I really only had a very short shopping list, but it’s already taken 30 minutes with Read More

Why could an exciting event like Halloween be frightening for young children? Halloween can be a frightening experience for young children through age 8 years, unless skillfully handled. Young children believe completely in what they see. They do not yet think logically. Scary costumes, creepy sounds, seeing people’s appearance change, etc. can be very unnerving Read More

As parents, we know that how we make requests makes the difference in how our children respond. And we can probably all remembered uplifting experiences of having someone believe that “You can do it!” Encouragement is simply putting courage into children, to enhance the motivation already present. Encouragement really can be like magic in helping Read More

Holidays would seem to be such an exciting time for children. But parents often say that this is the time their kids tantrum, act aggressively, or become obsessed with wanting toys. Why would kids need help handling holidays successfully? Often, we envision holidays as the perfect time for families. Parents can often have media-fed unrealistic Read More

The Goblins Will Get You If You Don’t  Watch Out! Why could an exciting event like Halloween be frightening for young children? Halloween can be a frightening experience for preschoolers unless skillfully handled. Preschoolers believe completely in what they see. They do not yet think logically. Scary costumes, creepy sounds, seeing people’s appearance change, etc. Read More

You are in the park with friends and it’s time to go home. Your child begins to whine, misbehave, and runs away from you…What’s going on here? You have been helpful to this child all day long! Why can’t kids seem to cooperate when we ask?! The first time!! Understanding the motivation behind your child’s Read More