Essentials of Smart Parenting is the latest guidebook by husband and wife team, Dr. Carl Arinoldo and Linda Arinoldo. Dr Carl Arinoldo has been working as a psychologist with his own practice for over 30 years and specializes in stress management and parent-child relationships. He has also appeared on many TV shows and radio programs as a guest speaker. Linda Arinoldo has been a school psychologist for over 25 years and has worked extensively with children, adolescents and their parents.

Choices, choices, choices… Being a teenager today isn’t easy. When a parent offers their child choices it allows the thinking process to develop. The earlier you can begin giving your child choices and letting them suffer the consequences of their choices the sooner you will develop a child with critical thinking skills that well serve them well in their teen years.

Do you never have any time for yourself? Are you bored of sounding like a stuck record as you plead with your kids to tidy their rooms, brush their hair or help with the dishes? Do you struggle to watch your favourite soap?

It is important to realize that you are not perfect. As you first start raising a new born baby, mistakes are going to be made. Some major ones and some are not so major ones. You must learn from these mistakes, and that is the important part. Keep repeating them and you will land in trouble.

When the screaming subsided, the airline’s answer was still a definite “no”. Although the associate at the ticket counter probably felt like the temper tantrum lasted hours, it only lasted five minutes. For me, it was a quite humorous five minutes. I found myself laughing because the gentleman’s emotional display reminded me of the occasional outbursts of my daughter when she was young and couldn’t have her way while shopping.