Positive Parenting for Military Families | Mr. Dad

Jeffery Leving, author of Fathers’ Rights. Topic: Hard-hitting and fair advice for every father involved in a custody dispute. Issues: How to stay in control of your emotions; ways to protect your relationship with your children; special issues facing military fathers; the importance of finding an effective and empathetic attorney; potential challenges of a divorce from a foreign national. Michele Borba, author of Unselfie, Topic: Why empathetic kids succeed in our all-about-me world. Issues: The hidden advantage of empathy and why it matters for children; how to develop empathy; what empathetic kids do that non-empathetic kids don’t; developing moral courage; becoming an empathetic leader

Jess Shatkin, author of Born to Be Wild. Topic: Why teens take risks and how we can help keep them safe. Issues: What adolescents think about risk; what you need to know about the adolescent brain; why adolescence is crucial to evolution; the truth about peer pressure; what parents, schools, and society can do about risk taking. Ira Chasnoff, author of The Mystery of Risk. Topic: Drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, and the vulnerable child. Issues: An overview of biological and environmental risks to newborns; risks to children exposed to marijuana, alcohol, and harder drugs in utero; behavior, memory, and other problems in drug-/alcohol-exposed children; diagnosing and treating drug-/alcohol-exposed children.

David Lancy, author of Raising Children. Topic: Surprising insights from other cultures. Issues: Culture and infancy; questions about infant attachment; children playing and learning; protection vs. suppression; going to school; consequence of raising “unique individuals”; major differences between the US and other cultures. Catherine Pearlman, author of Ignore It! Topic: How selectively looking the other way can decrease behavior problems and increase parenting satisfaction. Issues: What behaviors are appropriate to ignore and what to do when ignoring isn’t an option; use ignoring to eliminate problem behavior in just a few days; creating a reward system that actually works; use time-outs effectively so they don’t become a battle of wills; what to do when mom and dad aren’t on the same page.

Michael Hollander, author of Helping Teens Who Cut. Topic: Skills and techniques to end self-injury. Issues: Understanding self-injury and why kids do it; introducing DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) and why it’s successful; how does hurting themselves make some kids feel better; how to help your child restore emotion to its proper place. Michael Bennett and Sarah Bennett, authors of F*ck Love. Topic: Sensible advice for finding a lasting relationship. Issues: Reasons good people can’t find good partners; questions to which the answer is always “no”; how to prevent yourself from getting worn out by internet dating; the myth of the sense of humor; should my partner and I break up? what to consider before deciding to get divorced.

Kent Hoffman, co-author of Raising a Secure Child. Topic: How “Circle of Security Parenting” can help you nurture your child’s attachment, emotional resilience, and freedom to explore issues: How to balance being nurturing and protective with promoting your child’s independence; what emotional needs a toddler or older child may be expressing with difficult behavior; how your own upbringing affects your parenting style—and what you can do about it. Richard Watts, author of Entitlemania. Topic: How not to spoil your kids, and what to do if you already have. Issues: Why it’s a mistake to be friends with your child; Do delay gratification, Do let your kids struggle; Do give memories instead of things DON’T sacrifice yourself to make life easier for them; DON’T share your estate plan with them; DON’T hand down too much.

6/11/17 Erin Leyba, author of Joy Fixes for Weary Parents. Topic: Quick, research-based ideas for overcoming stress and building a life you love. Issues: Grieving your former life; rebel against the “should”; stop kicking your own ass; parent-kid date nights; parent-parent date nights; how to get your kids to cooperate; many, many more great ideas. Beau Lotto, author of Deviate. Topic: The science of seeing differently. Issues: Why we don’t see reality (and why our brains didn’t evolve to perform that function); how realizing that we aren’t seeing reality can make us more creative and innovative at work, home, play, and love; why we need to embrace uncertainty; how changing our environment changes the brain.

Judith Orloff, author of The Empath’s Survival Guide. Topic: Life strategies for sensitive people. Issues: Are you an empath? How to stop absorbing other people’s distress; empaths and addiction; protecting yourself from narcissists and other energy vampires; empaths, parenting, and raising empath children; empaths and intuition; much more. Mary Lamia, author of What Motivates Getting Things Done. Topic: Procrastination, emotions, and success. Issues: The differences between task-driven procrastinators and deadline-driven procrastinators; tools to turn agitation and annoyance into affirmation and acceptance; helping procrastinators jump-start their system and make the most out of their time; much more.

Heather Haupt, author of Knights in Training. Topic: 10 principles for raising honorable, courageous, and compassionate boys. Issues: The elements of the Knight’s Code: Stand against injustice; protect the weak, respect women, don’t give offense, speak truth, be generous, pursue excellence, and more. Lea Waters, author of The Strength Switch. Topic: How the new science of strength-based parenting can help your child to flourish. Issues: Understanding strengths; the ages and stages of strength growth; building strength through attention, savoring, gratitude, and goofing off; strength-based living in the real world; much more.

Michelle Janning, author of The Stuff of Family Life. Topic: How our homes reflect our lives. Issues: Does putting your smartphone on a restaurant table during a date impact your relationship? How does where you place your TV in your home impact your family? Exploring and understanding the changing world of families by looking at their stuff; more. Jack Gilbert, author of Dirt is Good. Topic: The advantage of germs for your child’s developing immune system. Issues: The microbiome; the importance of the bacteria that live inside us across the lifespan (but especially in childhood); where does our microbiome come from? The effects of diet, antibiotics, probiotics, and more; physical, emotional, and psychological effects of the microbiome; the dangers of antibacterial soaps and attempts to keep our children’s environment super clean; more.

Lisa Sugarman, author of Untying Parent Anxiety. Topic: Myths that have you in knots—and how to get free. Issues: Debunking myths like: Good grades are what matter most; if I punish my kid, she’ll hate me; drama is a middle school and high school problem; kids should be seen and not heard; my kids are too immature to do chores; saying “no” to my kids makes me a horrible parent; many more. Michael Bradley, author of Crazy Stressed. Topic: Saving todays overwhelmed teens with love, laughter, and the science of resilience. Issues: Understanding what’s wrong with the teen brain, teen culture, and the world they live in; what resilience is and why it’s so important; common resilience challenges such as behavior, school, sex and dating, and social issues.

Dennis Trittin, author of What I Wish I Knew at 18. Topic: Life lessons for the road ahead. Issues: Getting a perspective on life; the importance of character; relationships and communication; handling adversity; career selection and advancement; college academics; managing your finances; love and marriage; much more. Lisen Stromberg, author of Work, Pause, Thrive. Topic: How to pause for parenthood without killing your career. Issues: The politics of pausing; men want a place in the home; conscious careers, conscious choices; thriving: the career you deserve, the life you want; money matters; the need to prepare yourself and your career before you pause; what to do during your pause.

Michael Gurian, author of Saving Our Sons. Topic: A new path for raising health and resilient boys. Issues: Recognizing and confronting the boy crisis; the real causes of male violence; the new science of healthy boyhood; dangerous attacks on boyhood; supporting and building male emotional intelligence; the male motivational and maturity gap; much more. Harriet Lerner, author of Why Won’t You Apologize? Topic: Healing big betrayals and everyday hurts. Issues: Best ways to ruin an apology; why some people refuse to apologize while others over-apologize; how to get past anger and resentment when you’ll never get the apology you deserve; why forgiving too quickly can hurt you; the simple sentence that will teach children to apologize.

Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read. Topic: Your parenting legacy–past and future. Issues: How the past comes back to but us (and our children); the importance of your child’s environment; feelings–what they are and how to understand and validate them; support–making sure we give it to our kids and overcoming what we didn’t receive from our own parents; much more. Joseph McCormack, author of Noise. Topic: Living and leading when nobody can focus. Issues: Weapons of mass distraction and how we’re becoming deaf to information overload; how our brains are changing; the effects of info overload; the loss of civil discourse; how to start tuning in; how to start focusing on what matters most to you and your family; learning to say no to the noise; much more.

James McKenna, author of Safe Infant Sleep. Topic: Expert answers to your co-sleeping questions. Issues: What is co-sleeping? The history of co-sleeping; controversies, confusion, and flawed conclusions; science behind co-sleeping; benefits of co-sleeping; effects of co-sleeping; how to do it. Robert Hamilton, author of 7 Secrets of the Newborn. Topic: Secrets and (happy) surprises of the first year. Issues: The importance of letting the baby lead the way (meaning no schedules, no programs); why all your baby needs for the first few months is you (no toys, no gear, nothing but mom and dad); moms and dads are equally important; no screens for the first year; much more.

Darin Ingels, author of The Lyme Solution. @lymeexpertND – Instagram: dariningelsnd Topic: How to fight Lyme’s inflammatory auto-immune response and beat the disease. Issues: A five-part plan to: fortify your gut health and restore the immune system; follow a diet that increases immunity and reduces inflammation; thwart and target an active infection; identify hidden toxins that worsen Lyme symptoms; improve your lifestyle to stimulate and perpetuate healing. Liza Hanks, author of Every Californian’s Guide to Estate Planning. @NoloLaw – Instagram: nololaw Topic: What you need to know about wills, trusts, and everything else—regardless of where you live. Issues: What’s in an estate plan and why you need one; wills; living trusts; choosing a guardian for minor children; leaving money to children; estate planning for blended families; death and taxes; naming beneficiaries for retirement accounts and life insurance; finding a lawyer; keeping your plan up to date.