In a recent interview with Dr. Jeffrey I. Dolgan, PhD, Senior Psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, we asked how to manage children’s expectations during the holidays. Here’s what Dr. Dolgan had to say about how to deal with holiday let-downs if Santa, Mom or Dad come up short.
What do kids expect at Christmastime or Hanukkah?
Kids [...]

Resistance to schoolwork is futile. You will be assimilated into the schoolwork collective.
Public school or homeschool, there’s bound to be resistance to schoolwork at some point, or multiple points. How do you handle the complaints, the dislike, the utter resistance that kids throw our way?

I think it’s important for kids to fail.
No really. Hear me out. I’m not saying I want kids to fail all the time and never succeed, but did you know that failure and success are not mutually exclusive?
Claire has always been good at everything, right away: Academics, Ballet, Karate, Swimming, you name [...]

At one recent Denver middle-school open house, the principal greased visiting fifth-graders’ palms with chocolate. Another dangled international travel before visitors. And one captivated recruits with classroom chairs that actually bounce, to accommodate fidgeting pre-teens.
Practically every Denver middle school now invites fifth-graders and their parents to an open house. Many host fifth-graders as they “shadow” [...]

Through Saturday. The holidays are extra sweet at the Candy Cane Festival at Hammond’s Candies. The historic candy factory hosts the party for two days this year, beginning today with a miniature version of the annual festival—think of it as a sneak preview. Visit on Saturday for the full experience: cookie decorating, caroling, storytelling, trolley [...]

Make room in the toy box for the iPad.
Crayola allows tots to doodle on the iPad using its iMarker just as they would a crayon on a coloring book. Tweens are able to belt out their favorite Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez tunes on a Disney microphone that turns the tablet into a karaoke machine. [...]

An acquaintance from a Denver-area high school told me via Facebook that her biological mom had died this year. She said that the whole thing had been a nightmare and that I should write about it.
I wanted to know more about what she meant by that and so Cheryl allowed me to interview her about [...]

Guest Post by Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition
As Coloradans, we often boast about residing in America’s leanest state, enjoying 300 days of sunshine and being one of the most educated states in the country. But a new Associated Press report issued last week puts Colorado at the top of another list – No. 2 for vaccine [...]

With the holidays upon us, I realize questioning the excessive amount of toys our children have is not the most timely topic.
Or maybe there is no better time to talk about it.
When I first became a mom, I purchased toys with the same vengeance as a bull set loose in a China shop. If it [...]

On first meeting, Sully Coronado exudes a warmth and confidence that suggest she’s comfortably on her way to, well, wherever she wants to go.
The University of Northern Colorado sophomore is majoring in special education with an emphasis in teaching English as a second language, bilingual/bicultural and Spanish. She is the first in her family to [...]