Bill Corbett

I was in my Philadelphia hotel room when the newsflash appeared on the television screen: “13-year-old Philadelphia-area girl is missing,” and the authorities were pleading for anyone to come forward with information on her whereabouts.   The story was updated the very next night when the local news station reported that the girl was found in a Washington D.C. bus station in the company of a 20-year-old male whom she met online on Facebook. Over the next few days I saw various interviews with the girl’s parents as they demanded justice for the male predator who was responsible for convincing her to leave her home with him.  The authorities apprehended him without incident and charged the young man with “corruption of a minor.”  Perhaps her parents should be arrested with him on the same charge.  How was it that the 13-year-old girl was able to meet him on Facebook without her parents knowing about it?  They were obviously not monitoring her activity and al...

Tragedy happens all around us, but when it involves innocent children there are few words that can express the pain any caring person feels.  This morning, a shooter took the lives of 20 innocent school children including several teachers and staff members at a small town school here in Connecticut.  That means Heaven accepted 20 new little angels this morning.  If your own children haven’t heard about it, they most likely will.  Here are some tips on how to help your children handle the news of this unthinkable tragedy. First and foremost it’s important that you settle any fears your children may have.  They are torn between the worlds of fantasy and reality, so it may be very difficult for them to tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t.  Make every effort to listen to them carefully and with 100% of your attention.  It is important that you help them feel safe and calm.  Sometimes they may fear that what happened to the ...

It’s time once again to begin preparing for the holidays and gearing up for family, fun, and festivals.  The kids will be getting excited and home for school vacation.  Here are eight tips for ensuring a happier holiday season. TIP # 1:  Good Behavior in Someone Else’s Home At some point prior to arriving at someone else’s home for a holiday party, get to your child’s eye level and go over the rules for being at the party.  You may even ask them to explain the rules to you and don’t be surprised if they already know.  Throughout the event, acknowledge them every time you witness the behavior you want.  If their behavior has been a problem in the past, tell them there will be a consequence to bad behavior and that consequence will be leaving the party.  If you choose this option, be ready to implement it immediately, and don’t punish them.  The punishment is the departure itself and your complete silence on the drive home. TIP # 2:...

Would you like to know about an easy-to-use device that will help you get your kids to cooperate more?  My friends over at TimeTimer.com created the perfect device to help parents transition their kids from one activity to another and it is incredibly effective with parenting.  I’m talking about the visual timer from TimeTimer.co m.  Many of you may already be familiar with the desk top and wall mount models, but I’d like to introduce you to the new  Time Timer Watch Plus ®  that you wear on your wrist.  You’ll notice in the image to the left, that I’m wearing one of these great watches myself and right from the start, what I love most about it is the precision.  The  Time Timer Watch Plus ®  provides you with the exact minute and second as time passes so that you know the exact amount of time you have remaining. Unlike audible timers that simply count down to zero and ring when time has expired, the  Time Timer ®  al...

Asking Questions .  Our children are smarter than we give them credit for.  We are so worried that they are not going to do what is right, or we are in such a hurry that it just seems easier to give our children marching orders.  But asking them questions is a far more effective teaching tool.  Often, they know exactly what to do and when they come up with solutions to their own questions or challenges, it builds their problem-solving skills.  I always encourage parents to refrain from telling their children what to do or from answering their questions so quickly.  Instead, ask them questions such as “what do you think?” “what will you do now?” “what did you notice?”  Asking children questions also builds their own confidence and strengthens their faith in themselves.   Coaching .  Taking the art of asking questions one step further, coaching adds two more elements that teach a child greater problem-solving skills: Telling a child what you...

Children don’t often demonstrate respect because they either don’t know what it looks like or, as the Father of Individual Psychology, Alfred Adler taught us, their disrespectful behavior is their way of attempting to get unmet needs satisfied.  The secret to getting kids to treat their parents and others with respect is to first treat them with respect and to then help them find their place in the family or the classroom.  But the creators of the LOVE AND LOGIC parenting program would have you believe differently.  All parenting programs are not created equal and in my opinion, many are misguided and offer parents and teachers bad information.  It is my belief that we should not just be demanding and manipulating our kids to be more cooperative, we should be raising children who WANT to cooperate and be engaged in the family or classroom because they feel encouraged to do so. One of those programs that frequently offers misguided information and gimmicks...

It is incredibly frustrating when our child says "NO" to us.  If we react to it, they could feel more powerful than we want them to, causing them to do it more often.  Often times, they are saying no as a way of communicating that they need to feel more powerful.  We want our children to have the power to say no to others, so we must be careful how we handle their objections at home.  Here are five methods to gain a child’s cooperation.   No: Why Kids--of All Ages--Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It Don’t Overreact When They Tell You No .  Overreacting gives your children inappropriate power and may anger you.  If they refuse to comply, turn your original request into an entertaining activity in order to get it done.  Race them to the bath or tell them you’re going to pick up more puzzle pieces then they will.  If you find yourself becoming angry, walk away and let it go, and use one of the following ideas next time to be more...