Parenting: Research on Praise and Bright Kids
I’ve written about this issue and the research described, but I thought the take on this article from the Harvard Business Review was worth sharing. Harvard Business Review November 21, 2011, 6:53 PM EST The Trouble With Bright Kids Chances are, if you’re a successful professional today, you were a pretty bright fifth-grader By Heidi Grant Halvorson […]
Read MorePersonal Growth: Life Inertia: Like an Asteroid Hurtling Through Space
Sir Isaac Newton proposed his First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia, in 1687: A body at rest tends to remain at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. Bodies will continue in their current state, whether at rest or in motion, unless acted on by a greater outside force. Three hundred and […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Red Flags for Over-invested Parents
One of your most essential goals in your children’s lives as ski racers is to have them gain ownership of their participation. They need to feel that ski racing is their thing. But ownership isn’t just something that they can gain on their own. Rather, it is a gift you give them that offers so […]
Read MoreLatest News: Taylor’s New Website Redesign
I’m pleased to announce the launch of my new website redesign: more dynamic and visually compelling, better navigation, more information, free access to about 98% of everything I’ve ever written (including book chapters, newsletters, articles, and blogs), contact me with ease, purchase my books online.
Read MoreSki Racing: Chill Out: Psych-down Techniques
It’s natural to feel some increase in your intensity before a race. You’re putting yourself to the test and want to ski your best. That increase in intensity means that your body is gearing up for the challenge. But when that rise in intensity turns to anxiety that can hurt your skiing, then you’ve got […]
Read MorePrime Family Alert!: Message Blockers: Why Your Children Don’t Get Your Messages
Have you noticed that sometimes your children just need to hear a message once and they get it? And, frustratingly, you can send a message dozens upon dozens of times and it is as if they had never sent the message at all? Well, welcome to the real world of parenting where nothing goes as expected, what is supposed to work doesn't, what isn't assumed to work does, and what does work only works intermittently or only works for a limited time. It takes detective work and a real understanding of your children to figure out why some messages get through easily and others, despite your best efforts, don't seem to get through at all. Even if you understand the messages you want to communicate to your children, even if you know which conduits through which those messages are conveyed, and even if you have strategies by which to send those healthy messages, you can’t be sure that those messages will get through. Every time you send a message to your children, it will likely have to navigate its way through a maze of “message blockers” that can deflect, weaken, contaminate, or outright destroy your intended messages to your children. If you can understand these message blockers, you can lessen their impact and increase the chances that your messages will make it into your children’s psyches.
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