My son Noah calls me every day as he leaves work to sort of download the day, get things off his chest, tell me about work problems, talk things over.  The salient part of that experience for me is to see how important it is to him that he does a good job.  He really cares about that.  To him, his job is more than just work, it is a vital part of his very existence and to not do it well is anathema to him! Where did that come from?  He has often been asked why he understands so much about management, since he is a chef--and some of them are much more cooking oriented than management oriented.  He tells them that he grew up watching his mom run a business, watching his dad work really hard as a salesman, watching his grandparents work r...

When I first started writing this, it was about dealing with disappointment and moving through it. Today, I had to erase what I originally wrote because of a tragedy in the life of Karen, one of my dearest friends. This morning her five year old grandson, Matthew, died from complications of a bone marrow transplant. His little brother, Andrew, died from the same thing last August. Both children had a genetically transmitted blood disease, very rare--only a few children in the world (as far as I know under twenty) had manifested this particular strain. They were being treated by specialists in Cincinnati who did everything humanly possible to save their lives. Sadly, that didn't happen. I had the honor of getting to know Matthew ...

It’s eight o’clock in the night. Pie is packing her school bag. She is about to switch off the lights of her room when the door bell rings. Her mama opens the door. It’s Jia. She is crying!“O! Why are you crying? What happened?” Pie’s mama asks. Pie hears this and comes running out of her room. Jia says, “I have lost my money.” She had 200 rupees which she had kept in her little wooden box. She had got this money from her Papa for getting good marks in class test.Pie’s mama asks, “Did you look for it on your table and in other rooms?” Jia said yes. Then Pie asks if she asked her mama and papa about the money. Jia says they have gone for a party. Pie tells her not to cry. They will search for the money. Then she says that Jia should...

So one of the biggest worries for some Mums is whether their child is doing Ok in comparison to other children around them.  Meanwhile, other Mums are full of the fact that they think that their child is better than everyone around them. But neither of these is possible, and over a number of blogs I hope to show you that all your kids are AS GREAT, but NOT BETTER than each other. First a story!  I was on holiday, and Max (3yrs) was wandering around the dance floor, chatting to the other kids and investigating the snake, spider (uuurgggh), lizard and skunk that the family entertainer had brought in.  A lovely Mum next to me turned round and said ‘Oh how lovely, your son is so confident.  I look at my little boy who always holds hims...

The rise in cases of depression , obesity , insomnia in teenagers , low self esteem , high blood pressure in children , eating disorders , bullying , school violence and even teenage pregnancy are directly or indirectly linked to unhappy children. Whether it is or not, this is again open to debate. My question is can we teach our kids to be happy -- just as we teach them letters, habits, take them  to guitar classes and football classes. Have we told them through our actions that we accept them, our partners, our jobs, our present lives as it is? We strive and work for change but can't wish or it. And after we have put in our best efforts, we have to sit back and await results. Do the kids know that in life as in other p...

Eighteen months ago my brother-in-law bought a trampoline for my two nephews. This proved to be a fantastic way for them to have fun, keep fit and keep their boredom at bay. I also found that it was a great way for me to have fun with them. Being typical 3 and 4 year-olds, at the time, they have a very curious nature and like to know everything. They have provided me with hours of entertainment and been a real gift in my life. Experiencing the world through their eyes is a wonderful thing to do. At a mind, body and spirit festival just a few weeks before my trampoline incident I had purchased a pack of Angel cards. Following a trip to Findhorn, in Scotland, several years before, I had always been open to the fact that they may be presen...

We hear it all the time – so much poverty, so many people that do not have even the basic opportunities, and there’s nothing that just one person can do about it. What if that was wrong?   What if you could feed a child for just 25c? If you did that every day for just a week you would save their life. If you did that for every day for a month you change their life.   Extraordinary Ones has collaborated with the most effective organisations feeding and educating children in the world today, and between us we can feed and educate a child for just 25c. That’s probably less than the loose change in your pocket!   All we need is you, and the effort it takes to click a couple of times and contribute that 25c. Then between us ...

When I think about my own childhood and the memories of my own acheivement, my father had an approach to praise that used to baffle me. He would never outwardly demonstrate his pleasure about any of my acheivements, whether it be academic, vocational or as a sporting champion. So we never celebrated any of my results. The outcome of this was that in years to come, I never told my parents about my many achievements and the goals I'd reached. This included the hundreds of Martial Arts competitions I fought it in or the many little successes I enjoyed. The contrast between the relationship between my father and me and that between my children and myself is as stark as you can get. As a child, the communication between my father and I w...

Travelling is always and adventure, but travelling with children is a challenge. With young children it is always go and one only gets to see the most relevant things of a place. Other times, however, it is thanks to the little devils that we discover little jewels.  Travelling with our "princess" and  "hooligan" we have discovered some of the most beautiful villages in France and Italy. Pushing prams, go-chairs, carrying nappies and picnic bags is more our "travel style". Sleeping in camping sites rather than 4 o 5 star hotels where our "darlings" would cause disrepair. Eating picnics and fast food rather than five course meals in fancy restaurants... that is us! There are several points to take into account when you ...

Having a multilingual family I have often ask myself what is the best method for helping my children to learn and be proficient at several languages at the same time.  After 6 years, I am still trying to find the right balance and a concrete answer for this question.  So far, I believe that there is not a best method, but that there are several methods suitable for individual families.  that is to say that for each family there is "one best method" that works for them.  There are clearly some approaches that allow the child to develop the consciousness of two language systems more quickly than others. For example, the most often cited is the "one parent one language" approach.  There is also the family versus community lang...