EmpoweringParents.com

I was recently interviewed by DETAILS Magazine about Father’s Day and Fatherhood. One of the questions was about the meaning of fatherhood and how fathers are portrayed on TV — and more importantly, in society as a whole. I was asked if there was a father figure from TV that I remembered or that stuck out in my mind.

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Here’s my confession: I’m an imperfect mom, and often an ineffective parent. Most of the time I feel like I’m flailing along, trying to “get it right”– and as soon as I do, my son hits a whole new phase and the process starts all over again. There’s nothing like being a parent to humble you!

So Mother’s Day is a bittersweet time. Yes, I love the hugs and home made cards, the burnt pancakes and fresh-squeezed orange juice complete with seeds and bits of peel floating inside. But I also can’t help but do a little mental inventory of the past year. My mind jumps back to the moments “Mean Mommy” reared her ugly head (more times than I’d care to admit), and then, to how often I got it right. On my mental scoreboard, Mean Mommy is in the lead as of now, but I’m happy to report that there was one thing I did get right.

In fact, this year, one sentence has changed my whole parenting style, and I think it’s helping to make me a better mom:

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Certain holidays and celebrations can be a little bit more difficult than others for a single parent. Valentine’s Day used to be one of those holidays for me, but I learned some fun personal and practical family activities to celebrate without feeling the “Valentine Blues” as a single dad.

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In the midst of a manic shopping spree last week, I found myself panicking. You see, this year I failed in my holiday duties miserably.

All my five year old son asked Santa for was a dinosaur tent. As tradition dictates, I frantically raced from store to store looking for it –  to no avail. (When I finally checked online back at home, they said it had been discontinued. Argh.) I found myself shouting like a rabid chipmunk over the phone to my cool-as-a-cucumber husband, who was unmoved by the lack of dino tents in North America.

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I’m not sure that the word “stress” should be allowed to take so much credit for all the magical hubbub going on around us at this time of year.

Balancing our holiday parties, gift giving, visiting with relatives and spending time putting in batteries can be viewed as stress or as LIVING! How about a perspective shift?

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One of the most important things a single parent can do at the end of the year is to get your family involved in Life Planning.

Life planning is more than just goal-setting and new year’s resolutions. It’s about living your life next year with purpose and passion. Its foundation is based on your discovery of your fundamental happiness, and then planning the rest of your year of activities around that happiness. My good friends, Dan Harkavy and Bill Hart at BuildingChampions.com have been teaching me how to do this, and I wanted to share it with you and make this coming year your “happiest” and most productive ever with you and your family.

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As a flight attendant and the mother of a very experienced traveler, I am offering the following information to parents traveling with kids during the holiday season:

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Have your child’s toys taken over your house like a tiny army of Transformers and stuffed animals?  Do you regularly trip over a minefield of Legos on your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night? (If not, you’ve never been to my house.)

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