Happy Child starts with Tal Ben Shahar, the researcher, author and lecturer, and translates concepts into tips for building happier children. Yvette Vignando’s list (and discussion) includes (excerpt): 1. Allow your children to notice the full range of feelings they…
High roads for kid’s sake: you, your divorce, your children
Karen Covy contributes her “Divorced Girl Smiling” top 10 list on taking the high road. Covy runs through ways to (a) make things better or (b) not make things worse, and her list includes (excerpt): 1. Treat your spouse with…
Best Lawyers in America recognizes David C. Sarnacki as 2019 Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers in America recognized David C. Sarnacki as one of the 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” award recipients for his work in Collaborative Law: Family Law in Grand Rapids. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community…
2019 Best Lawyers in America – Professional Review and Rating of David C. Sarnacki
Best Lawyers in America selected David C. Sarnacki for its The Best Lawyers in America (25th edition). Mr. Sarnacki was recognized again for his work in: (1) Collaborative Law: Family Law; (2) Family Law; and (3) Family Law Mediation. The…
Out with the old: the parenting pendulum swings to teaching consequences by agreeing to contracts
CNN highlights Katherine Lewis’s “The Good News About Bad Behavior.” Lewis shows why punishment doesn’t work and outlines various approaches to helping kids learn self-control. Elissa Strauss writes (excerpt): “Punishment is something imposed on a less powerful person by a…
Parenting teens: embracing, understanding, changing
The Guardian gathers a few experts to show parents how to help our teenagers. Included in the tips list are these two: 4 Keep lines of communication open “There’s no doubt that the way you communicate will change,” [Ammanda] Major…
To complain or not to complain: feeding a more productive and valuable cycle
Harvard Business Review help us know what to do when we feel like complaining at work. The principles provide a road map for our other relationships as well. Peter Bregman shares 5 steps to taking effective action and writes (excerpt):…
Scammers fishing for cheaters
CNBC and others, like KrebsOnSecurity, are highlighting scammers spamming affluent neighborhoods with letters declaring “I know you cheated on your wife.” Jennifer Schlesinger and Andrea Day write (excerpt): “The amount of money is such that it’s not so much that…
Getting gross with your partner: Better relationships through dishwashing
The Atlantic reports on the Council of Contemporary Families’ study describing the correlation between who does that dishes and how strong a couples’ relationship is and how long it will last. The Counsil reports that women in heterosexual relationships value…
poems to make you Cry, Smile, Wonder
David C. Sarnacki has published Cry, Smile, Wonder, poems about our collective joys and struggles of being human. The poems touch on such subject matters as: relationships, things Thrivers tell Survivors, friendships, love and divorce, family, parents and children, adoption,…
Springing into action: helping make unhappy holidays better
USA Today offers us tips for helping our family and friend dealing with the Holiday Blues. Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant [the the authors of “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy”] write (excerpt): First: . . .…
Being disgusted with-or kind to-your partner: the top risk factors for divorce
CNN features a Thrive Global item on the predictors of divorce. The item references five correlations between individual factors and the end of a marriage: age, demographics (education and religion), neuroticism (emotional instability), infidelity (affairs), and contempt (hostility). Drake Baer…
Rule One: Understanding your kid is a copycat!
CNN references a Rule 1 for one aspect of parenting: modeling good behavior. Ask yourself: Is there some aspect where this Rule 1 would not apply? Kelly Wallace writes (excerpt): Rule No. 1 seems simple enough but is too often…
How to handle difficult people? Simple strategies starting with listening and understanding
The ABA’s Law Practice Today offers advice on dealing with difficult people. Matt Potempa explains his top six tips (excerpt): 1. Listen. . . . Try to understand the source of their frustration while avoiding the temptation to interrupt and…
From pain to future: grieving into a new life
On Being shares an extraordinary letter offered up to a stranger, the “unknown friend.” Kao Kalia Yang writes (excerpt): From somewhere in the high heavens, the places I could not see, far beyond my gaze, there was a future floating…
How to avoid raising spoiled kids: Just say no
The New York Times reminds us of something the Rolling Stones told us years ago: “You can’t always get what you want/But if you try sometimes well you might find/You get what you need.” In today’s research, showing our children…
Keeping your inner peace
The recent article on finding the calm in your chaos reminded me of this quote attributed to Saint Francis de Sales: “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace…
Living with the chaos inside of you: How to find calmness and manage stress
CNN shows one approach to finding your calm in the storm. Jessica Ravitz writes (excerpt): “Chaos is not outside of us; chaos is inside of us,” [Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji] answers. “In the chaos also you can find calmness. In the…
Counseling for serious relationship issues: communication and commitment
Dear Abby responds to a reader’s letter inquiring about the marriage counseling (excerpt): With a troubled marriage, a counselor can often facilitate broader communication than couples can achieve on their own. However, like most relationships, marriages can be “saved” only…
The inner life of teen boys: loyalty, friendship, protecting those they love
The Washington Post offers us ways to stay connected with teenage sons. The ideas flow from Kenneth Ginsburg, author of “Raising Kids to Thrive.” Phyllis Fagell explores these six ideas (excerpt): Focus on loving, high-yield interactions Tackle stereotypes about masculinity…