They say that those who fight the hardest are those who are the most alike, so perhaps it shouldn't have surprised me that when it comes to parenting, the English and the French have quite a bit in common.

Now I'm beginning to think my parents' judgment was a good deal better than I gave them credit for -- at least when it comes to getting your kids to do what needs to get done.

After all four of my boys burst into tears, I decided enough was enough.

The behavior I'm expecting from my daughter has not gotten better because what I'm doing is just being confrontational and even desperate in my attempt to "fix" a problem without digging deeper to find strategies that would be more long-term.

Kids have an inordinate amount of power and control in their families. Many parents seem unwilling to be the authority, take control and be firm with their kids. It's as if parents are afraid of "damaging" their kids or their relationship with them if they say, "no."

The past five decades have seen the birth of computers, man walking on the moon, the fall of Communism and other earth-shattering events, but time outs are still the best we can do?  

Dear Susan, When my 3-year-old is angry or frustrated with me, which is pretty often these days, she calls me names like "stupid poo-poo head." I h...

This week I thought I'd share some new (but really) old parenting strategies that seem to prove their value again and again

"My mother led me to understand that threats shouldn't be the motivating force behind getting kids to do certain things -- because one day they won't work anymore and we'll be left powerless."

One evening a few years ago, I received a frantic phone call from a friend. She was sitting in her driveway guarding her son's video gaming systems. They were on the front curb next to the family's trash cans.

It requires a shift in thinking. Once you realize that criticizing, accusing, punishing or humiliating your child does not create a collaborative atmosphere, does not bring your child closer to you in a shared purpose, and instead focuses attention away from solving the problem, you will begin to enforce your rules in a far more constructive way.