Today’s guest is Dr. Wendy Mogel, author of “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee”

Hi friends - please be sure to tune in today, 2:00 central time, to “It Takes a Parent” on WYLL/AM1160 Chicago, streaming live on www.wyll.com, or podcast anytime here starting Friday. Dr. Wendy Mogel is the author of the best selling, “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee.” She is a wonderful child psychologist in southern California, and she is just filled with common sense. As she put it to me when I was working on my book, “It Takes a Parent,” “I think the word ’special’ and ‘child’ are used way to much in the same sentence.”

Producer Lynne and I are a little tired of our kids whining, or telling us things like “that’s stupid” (no matter what we suggest doing, say on a Saturday afternoon) and in my case I’m tired of my kids asking me to go out to dinner all the time. What is that??

Dr. Mogel will talk to us about how to help our kids become more grateful. (Thank goodness!)

Dr. Mogel takes on what I call “the parenting culture” so beautifully, you’ll want to listen to the show and then buy the book on Amazon.com!

Oh, and we also welcome a new sponsor to the show today - Matt’s Cookies!

Be sure to tune in - and thanks for listening.

Betsy Hart

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Listen today to WYLL/AM1160 Chicago. . . On “It Takes a Parent,” producer Lynne and I will be talking to Dan Gould, director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michicgan State University. We’ll talk about how kids (and parents) are getting way too intense about sports - and is that sapping kids of their love of the game?

Then from 3-5, I’ll be guest hosting for Sandy Rios. I’d love for you to call in. We’ll be talking about kids and college and finances - and does money buy happiness by the way? with David Briggs of the Good Sense Minsistry at Willow Creek Community Church. Then, we’ll look at kids and the growing obesity epidemic, and talk about the growing trend of kids “cutting” themselves, with the author of a new book, “Cut.” What is going on there? Tune in or listen via streaming at www.wyll.com.

Happy Parenting - Betsy Hart

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Be sure to listen today to the “It Takes a Parent” show. (AM1160/WYLL 2:00 PM Chicago, or streaming at www.wyll.com, or anytime on “www.betsysblog.com”)Today, I’ll be talking to one of our favorite guests, David Staal, director of the Promiseland Children’s Ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in So. Barrington. He always has great insights.

Today we’re talking about back to school. It can be tough having our kids around all summer, but when school starts up again, it can get really nuts! How do we handle all that, and still put family first? Then, how do we help our kids face adversity or dissapointment (two big issues that seem to especially come up at the start of the school years!) - how do we help our kids to have Christian hearts in the secular culture they face? All that and more on “It Takes a Parent” today. We hope you’ll listen!

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Hi friends -Well, Dr. Carol Dweck is fascinating. She’s a professor of psycholgoy at Stanford University. Previously, she was at Columbia. Dr. Dweck is a reknowned researcher on self-esteem and motivation issues, and she’s done some amazing research that is so different from what you hear most about in the popular culture. Dr. Dweck explained why it’s NOT a good idea to tell a child she’s “smart,” how it is that we are raising children to be “entitled and fragile” - and what to do about it. She said we need to be raising kids who don’t have a “fixed” mentality - but a “growth” mentality. The difference can be lifechanging. One suggestion? When you sit around the dinner table at night ask your kids, “hey guys - I want to hear from everyone today about one challenge you faced, or one mistake you made - and learned from.”Now, that’s different than getting them to make their “all about me” posters!

Dr. Dweck had so many great insights, producer Lynne and I (with 9 kids under the age of 15 between us) couldn’t take notes fast enough. I can’t encourage you enough to just click on the microphone and listen to the show, and consider forwarding the link to families you know.

Thanks for listening - Betsy

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Hi Friends – today on the show it’s all about “back to school” – Yay! This is the first time in 13 years that I won’t have a little one at home most of day. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year. . . “ First, I talked to Deanne Dalgaard, a director of The Huntington Learning Center in Lake Villa, Illinois, and one of our sponsors. She talked about getting kids organized for school! (A skill I lack.)

She said workplace is key for homework: make it organized, make sure it lacks distractions, make sure it’s fully supplied

Also, let our kids face a challenge. Don’t do the work for them. She said a good rule of thumb is to have the kids try at least twice to go through an assignment BEFORE they come to you and ask for help.

And she said communication about what is going on at school is key. I like the idea of asking kids specific questions: you got off the bus and did. . . what? Who did you sit with at lunch, what did you talk about?

The Huntington Learning Center sees a lot of kids that just need some enhancement – just learning proper comprehension and review techniques that the schools don’t have the time or resources to address, for instance. Though they also deal with a lot of learning disabilities too, a major one being dyslexia.

By the way, a personal endorsement - I happen to know the Huntington Learning Center folks in Lake Villa do great work with ACT/SAT test prep. (They’ve seen a typical 5 point improvement after folks go through their ACT test prep class!) You can reach them here.

Huntington Learning Center of Lake Villa

But what about when your child struggles with real issues, for starters ADD/ADHD? There’s a lot of controversy about it, but what are the facts, and what are some non-medical ways to treat it when it is necessary?

Dr. Kyle Bonesteel, a neuropsychologist, tells us. He talks about discerning behavior simple problems from real pathologies, and how some new technologies like brain-wave therapy can be really helpful.

He can be reached here:

Dr. Kyle Bonesteel

I think it’s also wise to know that we can’t “fix” everything perfectly for our kids. They may always struggle with some kind of learning or other problem. It might be a trial for them, but God can use those trials for good.

Finally, I talked about a book I really like called “Blame it on the Brain: Distinguishing Brain Disorders, Chemical Imbalances, and Disobedience ” by Ed Welch. (You can get it on Amazon.) The point there is that we can’t allow therapies to do our job “for” us as parents. We can only use them as tools for getting our kids to a place where we as parents can better reach their hearts and minds.

Thanks for listening!

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You heard it on the “It Takes a Parent” show today - Thomas the Tank engine is coming to the Illinois Railway Museum this weekend and next weekend, and you can win a family four pack to visit the museum and ride the real Thomas the Tank engine. That’s a $60 value. It’s in Union, Illinois, and the first person to let me know your family would like to go, wins. Just click on “add a comment” above and let me know you’d like to go! For more information, click on “Thomas the Tank Engine” under sponsors, to the right.

Best wishes!

Betsy Hart

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Hi friends – today on the show I talked to Gregg Easterbrook, a scholar at the Brookings Institution and author of, “The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse.” We looked at the New York Times cover story this past Sunday about wealthy folks in Silicon Valley who are still nervously running on a monetary treadmill.

We talked about the very counterintuitive studies that have been done that show that while real depression rates have gone way up since 1950, rates of happiness have not. And yet, we in the West have never lived longer, more prosperous, easier lives. What’s going on?

And get this – Easterbrook shows that once people have basic needs met, or an annual income of only around $20,000 – happiness and money become completely “decoupled” – meaning the rich and the even the super rich are no happier than anyone else. (I wouldn’t mind testing the theory myself, but oh well.)

And then, of course, I looked at where real happiness, or better yet, real joy comes from. I hope you’ll tune in and listen by clicking on the microphone. As always, I love to know what you think.

Great Web Giveaway This Week!

And you might not be able to buy happiness, but this week you might win a little bit. I have TWO family four packs of tickets to the Thomas the Tank visit to the Illinois Railway Museum, a value of $60, to give away. Thomas is coming August 17th for two weekends. Just click on “add comments” at the top of this radio show entry, and let me know your family would like one of the four-packs. The first two folks to do so win. You can find out more by clicking on “Thomas” to the right. And hey, you can even win them for someone else, maybe a young family in your neighborhood or church. Then you can “give” them some happiness!

Thanks for listening – Betsy Hart

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Hi friends, today on the show I talk about teens and dating and argue - as I did in a recent column - don’t try this at home!

Then, I talk about how we parents shouldn’t fear the culture so much as we should help our kids learn to think rightly about it. That there is lots of good to find even in the midst of a very fallen culture.

Do you think those two things are contradictory?

I’d love to hear from you!

Blessings - Betsy

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Hi friends – today producer Lynne and I had the privilege of interviewing Ken Sande, head of the International Christian Reconciliation Ministry, “Peacemakers.” We focused on kids and peacemaking, and boy did Ken have a lot to teach Lynne and me. With 9 kids between us, we decided we wanted to move him into each of our homes for about a week.

Ken is the author of “The Peacemaker,” and his wife Corlette is the author of “The Young Peacemaker” (which includes a series of workbook lessons.) You can find both on www.Amazon.com

Ken talked in broad terms and also gave us hands on guidelines. Lynne and I were taking notes the whole time.

We hope you’ll listen in via podcast, anytime you’d like to download the show.

Special Giveaway

Then I got to introduce another new sponsor, Ed Rosengren of the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. That’s the largest railway museum in the United States. They have a special guest coming in August your kids will love – the full size Thomas the Tank Engine and you can take a ride with your family. Ed gave me a family 4-pack of free tickets to pass on to my listeners. That’s a $60 value! Click on the Thomas the Tank link to the right, and see what it’s all about. Then be the first person to comment here and tell me you’d like that 4-pack for your family, and you win. We’ll contact you and let you know you’ve won, and I’ll announce your name on the air.

Until next week – have a great one!

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Hi friends - today on the air I talked with Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. He recently wrote a very provocative column about children who feel “entitled” to. . . whatever they want. Is Mr. Rogers to blame?

Here’s the piece. . .

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118358476840657463.html

Then, I interviewed a new sponsor, Debbie from Beautiful Beginnings in Lincoln Park and Western Springs (fine furnishings for baby and child’s rooms.) She and her sister Jackie own both stores. Click on their sponsorship link nearby, and you’ll get a great coupon for 10% off orders of 100 dollars or more.

Debbie had some really interesting things to say about how new parents are - and are not - prepared for their new babies. She also said that right now she’s seeing a trend away from finding out the sex of the new baby - and offered some really great tips on what new parents have to be ready for when baby arrives, and how how to just relax and enjoy the new little one.

After all, the days may be long - but the years are so short!

See you next week.

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