We are, without a doubt, an interesting animal, we humans. We have few young, and tend to them with meticulous care through an extended childhood. We have an opposable thumb, which, in turn, allows us to do a huge variety of tasks with our upper limbs especially true because of our thinner, longer and straighter fingers that allow for fine motor skills. Though I’m sure you’ve come across notable exceptions, we are mostly naked and hairless and have tons of sweat glands. W

Questions I believe every parent asks themselves at least once or twice each week (regardless of the age of their children): Why, oh why, do our kids act the way they do? Do they mean to be completely exasperating? Do they mean to be the rude little creature they appear to be? Do they mean to be horrible to their younger sibling? Do they mean to be grouchy at the cat? Is it that they are trying to push your buttons? Is it that they just don't know how to behave? Don't

Okay, admit it. You’ve had exactly ten minutes of Me Time this week, and that was because you were stuck in traffic and literally forced to stay in one place (as an aside, our traffic has been almost unbearable; talk about having a lot of unexpected-and-unplanned-for time on my hands! Yay for BBC and podcasts!). I would be willing to bet if you’re stuck in a long queue or in traffic, one of the first things you did when that happened was reach for your mobile, start to thu

Who is 'Us' and who is 'Them'? It's us versus them. Kids versus adults. Republicans versus democrats. Boys versus girls. Americans versus Europeans. At some point, shouldn't we focus more on how we are the same versus how we are different? Let's look for unifying characteristics instead of what makes us diffferent. I feel as though there are two mindsets: those who find it easier to focus on the good characteristics of others and those who focus instead on the bad. M

It’s the week of appreciating relationships, and show those we love how much we do indeed care. One of the best things we can do for our relationships -- parental, sibling, marital, friendship -- is to feed them. What, exactly does 'food' for a relationship look like? I’m no expert, but a couple of suggestions: Laugh together. A recent study out shows that the relationships that endure, the ones that make it through the tough times, are those wherein laughter occurs Those

Every year, you get the question: where are you going this year for your R&R? Every year, you come up with a grand plan, full of fun adventure and exotic locales, …. And then you wake up and book the plane tickets for your home town. You tell yourself: “This year, it’ll be different. This year, it’ll be fun.” And perhaps it will be. But … more often than not, R&R becomes another month in a family basement, or you and your family schlepping from one sofa to the next. We di

Okay, admit it. You’ve had exactly ten minutes of Me Time this week, and that was because you were stuck in traffic and literally forced to stay in one place. I would be willing to bet one of the first things you did when that happened was reach for the mobile, start to thumb through your emails and Facebook messages. Stop. Put down the phone. (Unless, of course, that’s where you are reading this. Then you can read it, and THEN put down your phone). Just be for a few mi

Let’s talk about state of mind. You have about 50 things to do today, right? 50 things to do, and time and energy for maybe 40 of them. Even when you multi-task, it is almost impossible to get things done, so you are regularly feeling frazzled, harried and impatient. Tiny little things with your partner or kids set you off; you feel like a walking time bomb. Who knows when you’ll erupt, why or with whom. Sound familiar? We have all been there, done that, and know it i