Why allowing children to experience disappointment, with our support, may be one of the greatest gifts we can give them. By Dr. Deb Zupito Picture this. You are driving home after a long day when your child remembers that they wanted to stop for ice cream. You explain that dinner is waiting, and ice cream is not happening today. The crying begins. Then the kicking, the pleading, and the negotiations from the back seat. You try reasoning. You mention the ice cream in your freezer. Nothing...

Dr. Deb Zupito The first few weeks of preschool can be emotional, and not just for the children. There are tears, hesitant little feet, children wrapped around a parent's leg, and parents standing at the door wondering whether they should offer one more hug, one more kiss, or one more minute. Sometimes there is that heartbreaking little face looking back at you as if to say, You are seriously leaving me here? As parents, every instinct in us wants to make that discomfort go away. We want to...

By: Dr. Deb Zupito There is something about the end of summer that signals change. Backpacks appear in stores, older siblings head back to school, classrooms begin new themes and routines, and suddenly everyone seems to be talking about what comes next. For many preschoolers, their actual days may not change very much. They may have attended preschool throughout the summer. They may still wake up at the same time, walk through the same doors, and see many of the same familiar faces. But that...