Kids are overprogrammed these days.

There is still quite the vibe out there that as a parent you have to be completely in control and in charge.

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

Challenging behavior is just a signal, the fever, the means by which the kid is communicating that he or she is having difficulty meeting an expectation.

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.

No kid should be getting three or four hours of homework a night. There's no breathing time, there's no family time, there are just extracurriculars and homework and then go to bed.

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.