Sunshine Parenting

These really aren't 'tricks.'... In order for any of this stuff to work...you have to have a strong relationship with the kids you're trying to use these on. -Maria Horner In Episode 22, Maria Horner shares some of the important lessons she's learned as a mom and now passes along to her summer staff each year during counselor training at Catalina Island Camps . "You know, those 'Jedi Mom Tricks' t...

"For me, I grew more appreciative of everything I have...I also learned that I am a happier and better person when I am outside and don't have my phone ." Charlotte, talking about what she learned on her gap semester in Costa Rica This week, I dropped my daughter off at her second college (the one she transferred to this year as a sophomore). She has several friends who also decided to transfer sc...

A 'Yes Brain' is one that is open and receptive and resilient. It's one that, even when something is really hard, we're willing to stick with it. -Tina Payne Bryson In Episode 20, I'm chatting with  Dr. Tina Payne Bryson  about her latest book - The Yes Brain - co-authored with Dr. Daniel Siegel. I love this book and highly recommend that every parent, educator, and person who works with kids read...

Earlier this year, I devoured Devorah Heitner's book Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World  during a single plane trip . Heitner's insights   changed my previously (and very opinionated) negative view of my kids' screen use. I highly recommend all parents read  Screenwise, as the book   provides new insights into our kids' digital world and helps parents feel less af...

In Episode 18, I talk with Tom Holland, a camp director and parent of four who has many excellent ideas for parents to teach kids to approach life with wonder and joy, learn leadership skills, enjoy the outdoors, and learn appropriate tech use habits. Tom attended the camp he and his wife Katherine now own,  Wilderness Adventures,  as a teenager. There, Tom discovered a passion for adventure and o...

Inspired by this article , as well as my personal connection to her school, I recently got in touch with Corona del Mar Middle School Principal Rebecca "Becky" Gogel to talk about her new phone-free lunch policy, implemented at the start of the 2017-2018 school year. Becky is in her third year leading CDM Middle School as Principal and, together with her teachers and staff, decided to implement th...

In Episode 16, I talk with one of our country's foremost experts on adolescent mental health, Dr. Jess P. Shatkin , about his parenting book,  Born to Be Wild: Why Teens Take Risks, and How We Can Help Keep Them Safe.  We cover a range of topics about teenagers and parenting, including sleep, social skills, summer camp, being present with our kids, teen decision making, and more. I highly recommen...

I think it's one of my favorite parts of my job, getting to form these really positive, effective, and fun partnerships with parents. -Sara Kuljis Last week during a trip to Southern California, I had the pleasure of an impromptu visit and Facebook Live session with Sara Kuljis, my dear friend who happens to also be a camp director like me. Sara and her husband Steve own and direct  Yosemite Sierr...

  In Episode 14 of the Sunshine Parenting podcast , I interview Catherine Pearlman, founder of The Family Coach.   She co-hosts (with her sports writer husband, Jeff Pearlman)  The Sports Parent podcast  and is author of the recently released parenting book, Ignore It! How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction.  We have an enlighteni...

"You are to use that [strength] to defend the women in your life against men that are abusing their strength." -Heather Haupt In Episode 13 of the podcast, I'm talking with Heather Haupt about her book  Knights in Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys . After interviewing Kathleen Buckstaff about her book Get Savvy , reading this book and interviewing a...

"I've written the book that I needed as a teenage girl." -Kathleen Buckstaff   In Episode 12 of the podcast, I'm talking with author and parent Kathleen Buckstaff. Kathleen and I were classmates at Stanford in the 80s, and we reconnected a few years ago when I learned about this book she had just started writing. We have since shared many lengthy conversations about parenting and educating others...

What summer camp offers is the opportunity to quite deliberately place them [children] in a very different environment, and if you are careful about that, you can use that summer period as almost a "spiritual delousing." -Ron Lieber In Episode 11 of the podcast, I'm talking with Ron Lieber, author of the 2015 New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller  The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids...

  In Episode 10 of the podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite parenting and camp experts, best-selling author Michael Thompson, Ph. D. For more than three decades, Thompson has been a clinical psychologist, school and camp consultant, and international speaker on the subjects of children, schools, and parenting. Throughout my career as a camp director, Michael has graciousl...

"Everything good in my life is because of camp." Daniella Garran Daniella Garran calls herself a camp "cultist" because she loves camp that much. Daniella has been at Cape Code Sea Camps  since 1984 as both a camper and a counselor, and she now serves as an assistant director. In her role at CCSC now, Daniella schedules over 400 campers and oversees the teen leadership program. Daniella loves summ...

"Sometimes we feel like salmon swimming upstream, but camp has really made us feel comfortable when we've made those decisions that go against the current in our community." -Sally Whipple In Episode 8 of the Podcast, I talk with Scott and Sally Whipple, the owners of three Bay Area (California) camps: Mountain Camp Mountain Camp Woodside Plantation Farm Camps The Whipples share five intentional d...

"A moderately paced schedule serves our children better." -Sara Kuljis In Episode 7 of the podcast, I'm talking again with my good friend Sara Kuljis. Sara is the owner and director of Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp and Emerald Cove Day Camp . Sara offers popular parenting workshops in Southern California. One of Sara's favorite workshop topics is about family "pace and space." In the podcast, she ex...

"Not WHO you are but HOW you are." -Erica Jameson   I learned a lot talking with Erica Jameson, the third-generation owner and director of Jameson Ranch Camp , a sustainable, working ranch in California's southern Sierras. Campers at Jameson learn how to take care of animals, live simply, and, as Erica says, "play in the dirt." We covered a lot of topics in our conversation about both her own expe...

In Episode 5 of the Sunshine Parenting Podcast, I interview Jeff Cheley, the 4th generation director of Cheley Colorado Camps , a world-renowned summer camp founded in 1921 in Estes Park, Colorado, by Jeff's great-grandfather. Jeff is in his 18th year as director at Cheley and with his wife Erika is parenting three young sons. He has a business degree from the University of Texas, Austin, and serv...

  "We want this party to be with all the girls being present and in the moment with their friends." -Ashley, Parent Ashley's Facebook post caught my attention - it was a photo of the text she had sent to the parents of the 22 (yes, you read that correctly, TWENTY-TWO!) girls invited to her 12-year-old daughter's sleep-over swim party. I am sharing Ashley's ideas here so that other parents can deci...

In Episode 3 of the Sunshine Parenting Podcast, I interview my good friend Sara Kuljis about raising resilient, independent kids. Sara is a 20-year veteran camp director and parenting trainer who has great insights and ideas about parenting and counseling kids. Sara, with her husband Steve, owns and directs Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp , a Christian adventure camp for children ages 8 to 16 years ol...

In episode 1 of the Sunshine Parenting podcast, I talk with best selling author Christine Carter, Ph. D., about her book, Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents .  We discuss two of the tips from her book, including "put on your own oxygen mask first" and family dinner. We also address a listener question about teaching children how to handle unkind kids. Visit...

Back in 2012, I wrote about how much I treasure our Family Dinner . That was a precious, memorable year for our family, the final one before our oldest daughter left for college. Now our family dinners include just four of us (myself, my husband, and our two boys), but they are still my favorite part of the day - and often the only time we really talk and connect. The post No Time for Family Dinne...

The Conflict Resolution Wheel I've always considered myself non-confrontational and I do my best to avoid conflict. In researching ways to teach kids conflict resolution skills, I've discovered that avoidance is actually a choice on the "Conflict Resolution Wheel." I'm primarily a "walk away" or "go play with somebody else" conflict resolver. And, perhaps because I try to "use kind words and a fri...

Before I had kids, there were several things I said I would never let my kids do. Once I was actually a parent, however, many of the "nevers" evaporated in the reality of my day-to-day parenting challenges. My kids did occasionally end up sleeping in my bed, eating fast food, and watching too many cartoons instead of… The post The List: My Best Parenting Tip appeared first on Sunshine Parenting .