EmpoweringParents.com

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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As parents, it’s easy to focus on the kids and lose sight of ourselves and our needs as adults at this time of year. So, when we look at how to manage family and behavior problems during the holidays, we need to look at the effect the season has on us and on our kids. We are often overwhelmed by the amount of work we need to get done on the job and the amount of pressure we feel due to social obligations at this time of year. Add in the stress of gift buying (especially in divorced and blended families) and we feel a tremendous emotional fatigue—which means we have fewer emotional resources with which to manage our kids. The whole thing can become a cycle of stress.

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Here’s a great project for all Moms and Dads to do with their kids this Thanksgiving. I want you to play the “interviewer”… like a news reporter. But this time, the celebrity you are about to interview is your child. This is a great way to start some real conversations with your kids. (Anyone taking a long car ride this holiday?) It’s also a good way to practice the art of listening — something we all need a reminder to do once in awhile. Take a look at these 10 questions and please blog back your (or your child’s) answers to share with other readers of EP: You might be surprised at what you hear!

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OK, I’ll admit it: Halloween scares me. The sheer amount of candy, sugar and neon dyes my son consumes in one night is enough to give me the shivers, because I know what’s coming next: crazed, wild-eyed, uncontrollable behavior. Although it still hasn’t been proven conclusively, I am convinced that too much sugar, along with all the food additives, worsens behavior. And I don’t think I’m alone in this — what parent hasn’t seen their child bouncing off the walls like a superball after eating a pack of Skittles? (You may have also heard about the study that came out last year in England that said that kids’ hyperactive behavior, especially those with ADHD or ADD, increases when they consume common food dyes and additives.)

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