Many parents struggle to find effective consequences while overlooking the benefits of using rewards. Positive reinforcement is a proactive way to encourage good behavior, and one that can be easily accomplished by using charts.

Ryan is financially savvy, you could say. When he discovered that his mom had taken a hundred dollar bill from his wallet, he immediately demanded she pay him back – with interest.

Kayla Abramowitz is the founder of Kayla Cares 4 Kids, a Nonprofit organization that donates entertainment and educational items to children’s hospitals across the country. The idea to provide entertainment relief to hospital-bound kids came to Kayla when she was just 11 years old, after extended hospital stays of her own.

Peer pressure is one of the most formidable struggles in a young person’s life. Kids — and adults — succumb to peer pressure because the prospect of facing humiliation, rejection and alienation seems worse than compromising their values, and even their safety.

Helping children become socially conscious is not about raising the next generation of activists, though some may grow up to dedicate their lives fighting unjust causes. It’s about raising kids to become compassionate leaders at work, involved members of their community, dependable friends at school, and caring brothers and sisters at home.

Developing crucial life skills can mean the difference between seizing an opportunity and missing one, caving into peer pressure and standing up for what you believe in, and living the life you’ve always wanted versus the one someone else wanted you to live.

No other time during the year is a knock on the front door from a total stranger, disguised in a costume no less, welcome, as he asks for treats – except on Halloween. But what many don’t realize is that trick-or-treating is a relatively new custom. It’s only about 100 years old.

Most people believe creativity is something that’s hardwired into your genes, something you are. Having interviewed some of the most enterprising kids around today, what I’ve discovered is that creative children aren't necessarily born with genius, but have adopted key habits that enable them to go from creative insight to creative output.

Often, the characteristics that bug us most about our children are those we loathe in ourselves. And when we project our own insecurities onto our children, the knee-jerk reaction is to expel it by implementing some kind of change - make him tougher, make her more outgoing, make him taller, even. Despite good intention, we try to correct something in our child simply because we identify with it.

Ever wonder why it’s so much easier to memorize a song than study text? Lane Karlitz wondered the same thing. But in Lane’s case, singing songs and studying weren’t mutually exclusive activities.

People have an innate need to feel needed. Kids are no different. According to Bob Murray, PhD, author of Raising an Optimistic Child: A Proven Plan for Depression-Proofing Young children, "Happiness depends largely on the feeling that what we do matters and is valued by others."

In the book Coming of Age in the Other America, researchers Stefanie DeLuca, Susan Clampet-Lundquist, and Kathryn Edin found that one of the reasons some kids pushed past challenging circumstances and managed to graduate high school and college was something called an identity project, a hobby or passion some are lucky enough to have found and get immersed in. So what can we do – or not do - as parents to help our kids discover their passions and nurture them?

These famous failures show us that achievement happens not in spite of, but because of failure.

Children are natural-born engineers. They love to build, take things apart, only to put it back together. When they play with Magna-Tiles, Lego or other building blocks, they are in fact taking what they know about math and science (that two triangles make a square, for instance) and using it to solve a problem. STEM activities for kids help them do this and encourage learning through play.

Grit, not intelligence, academic achievement, or talent is a better predictor of early success, well-being and happiness than IQ or talent.

"Mommy, I don’t like this bowl. I want my cereal in a blue bowl," protested Phoebe, my youngest child. It was a hectic morning so I decided against a fight with a stubborn 3-year-old. I transferred the cereal from the orange bowl to the blue bowl and placed it in front of her.

Kids are more prone to eat visually appealing foods. Try constructing this artful display with your child for an afternoon snack and craft all in one.

Potpies are great hiding places for vegetables. Try baking mini ones in a muffin pan with shape cut outs.

There are always exceptions, of course. But the perfectionist instinct in firstborns and only children are strong for two reasons, mom and dad.

Learn about Max and his invention and how the parental support for one child’s dyslexia helped launch a best-selling product and successful business!

Getting a child to read through her tears is hardly the path towards a lifelong love affair with books. Instead, try a more tacit approach that won’t require any nagging at all. Here are 4 tips to get your child to read, without forcing, nagging or telling them they have to!