Stigma-Busting (or How I Dealt With Lice)
As my children and I boarded the plane at SFO bound for Lake Michigan, the pilot invited the kids into the cockpit for a look. One by one they sat in the pilot’s seat while I took photos with my phone-cam. It was cramped but jolly, and then Matty informed the pilot, “I have lice.” Although I knew I shouldn’t, I felt a wave of embarrassment and shame. I snapped my last photo, thanked the pilot, and hustled the kids to our seats. Lice carries a stigma of poor hygiene, poverty, bad grooming, and disease (all of which are unrelated to lice infestation). And on top of...
Read MoreMommy Needs a Time Out
I am test-driving Jane Nelsen’s “Positive Discipline.” As I read the book, I am trying the techniques, and I will share my experience with you. Here’s the scene: I have just busted my daughter for some infraction, and she is defensive and angry. I begin to explain the limit I am setting — let’s be honest, I am lecturing — and she is not listening (the hands covering her ears are a giveaway). “You need to listen to me,” I say, trying to contain my frustration and anger, but I might as well be an adult in a Charlie Brown cartoon:...
Read MoreConscious Eating Tips for Moms
Moms — do you find your weight creeping up? Maybe you never lost the baby weight, or maybe it was a couple of pounds last year and another couple this year. But if you do the math ….. well, before you know it you’ll be deep in mom-jeans territory. Now’s the time to moderate your eating and establish some good habits, and save yourself the trouble of dieting when those few pounds have multiplied. Making healthy, conscious choices will help you regain your shape — and your sense of control. 1. Start your day right. Eat a good breakfast with some protein —...
Read MoreThe Measure of a Mother
I’m about to do something very un-coach-like. I’m going to suggest that you lower your standards. As a coach, I always encourage my clients to dream big, to set ambitious goals and not be bounded by what seems reasonably achievable. Succeed or fail, you’re usually better off aiming high than shooting for the middle and not knowing what heights might have been possible. The risk – of failure or disappointment – is vastly outweighed by the benefit of stretching beyond our comfort zone. But what about when we set unachievable standards and then flog ourselves as unworthy?...
Read MoreMy Headset Was in the Fruit Bowl
My timing was flawless. I returned from dropping my son off at school just before my first client of the day. But when the phone rang promptly at 9:30 I couldn’t find my wireless headset (perhaps the most important piece of technology for a coach). It was … well, you read the title. I’d like to blame my kids, but I have to confess that I must have set it in with the bananas and apples myself last night. Boy, do I need help! First, the background: this is Day 10 of 15 Days (FIFTEEN DAYS) that my husband is away at conferences in – get this – France. It’s...
Read MoreMotherhood Runs the Gamut of Emotions
I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or cheer when I read a post on ParentHacks suggesting that moms turn their children’s bathtime into “pamper” time by sticking their own feet in a lavender scented kids’ bathtub while reading a glossy magazine, and then donning lotion and socks afterward. Such are the lengths to which a mom will go. The sheer absurdity the rubber-ducky-strewn spa pedicure made me want to laugh. At the same time, the sad truth that many moms have so few moments of peace and self-renewal made me want to cry. And the sheer pluck and...
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