Force Yourself, Yes, Force Yourself to Get Started on That Task

Conventional wisdom is that forcing yourself to do a task won't enduringly reduce procrastination. So the argument goes, you must address the underlying cause, perhaps fear of failure, or increase frustration tolerance. 

I used to try to help my clients using those two models but in recent years, I've have had more success with a simpler, baby-step approach. In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I outline that approach, including how I used it to make myself write that article. 

Your Child and College: Contrarian ideas

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers contrarian ideas I believe that most parents of high school students should consider. 

Your Child and Mind-Altering Substances

Substance abuse is among the most important parenting topics, and among the most ticklish.

Key preventers of abuse are parents’ role modeling and placing the child in schools, activities and with friends who are unlikely to be abusers.

But done well, one or more conversations with your child can also help I offer a sample dialogue as my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Your Child and Sex

Whether you want to be sexually liberal or conservative with your child, key is communicating your values while taking your child into consideration.

One way I might make this potentially difficult goal more doable is to offer sample dialogues.

That's what I do in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Your Child's Friends: Doables that encourage good friendships

Psychologist Judith Rich’s research found that peers influence children more even than parents do. Certainly, friends can influence your child, and you can boost the chances of that influence being positive. I offer doables in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

You and Your Child's Homework

Homework was probably first assigned the first time a teacher was frustrated that students weren’t learning enough, and that's probably when civilization began. 

Since then, legions of kids have pleaded, yelled, lied, done everything possible to avoid the dreaded task.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers parents tips that work in the real world for getting your kid to do the dastardly deed without your pulling your hair out. As with all the articles in this series,  the focus is on what's realistic, what works in the real world, what I call doables.

Choosing Your Child's School: A parent's most important decision?

Parenting may be the most important subject they don’t teach in school or college. And among the most challenging, at least emotionally. 

Many writings on parenting can make you feel inadequate if you’re not perfectly consistent, ever striking the balance between setting limits and providing freedom, with no helicoptering Tiger Momming allowed!

Today's and the next few installments in my PsychologyToday.com series focuses on potent parenting practices that are realistic in the real world, what I call doables.

Because so much parenting literature focuses on birth-to-five, this series will focus on K-12. 

Today’s installment is on choosing your child’s school. That's probably the most potent single action a parent can take. Make the one-time effort to get your child into a well-suited school and you’ve gone a long way to ensuring your child gets an appropriate education and has a peer group you feel good about.