We have forgotten that those skills on the more positive side of human nature have to be taught, have to be modeled, have to be practiced.

Over 18 years of us solving problems together, my daughter has shown me that she's got a good head on her shoulders, that she is pretty good at solving the problems that affect her life. If she wants my input, she gets it.

Parents are much more likely to be attuned to what they don't like than they are to the expectations that the kid is having difficulty meeting.

If we're being unilateral, then communication does not happen, the relationship does not happen.

People don't scream or swear or pout or sulk when there's compatibility. But most growth occurs when there's incompatibility. When it comes to resilience, when it comes to pulling yourself up when you've fallen down, you don't learn those things when things are going well. You learn those things when you're struggling.

Most parents are accustomed to dealing with problems in the heat of the moment.

The idea that we can take this lump of clay and mold it into a form of our choosing is absolutely ludicrous.