Upon entering motherhood, I donned the mantle of keeper of the peace. At the outset, I gave no thought to how exhausting and never-ending this pursuit would be or if I even possessed the human power necessary to control the emotional states of others! 

The Parent Coaching Institute invites you to join PCI Parent Coaches for a workshop with Dr. Doug Gentile, associate professor at Iowa State University, to discuss the truth about media's effects on children and adolescents.

When my oldest daughter went to prom her Senior year, she was invited to spend the weekend in Wisconsin for post-prom. . . I was concerned that the weekend had the potential to include alcohol and marijuana use along with other risky teen behaviors.

Developing our children's intellect has been the primary focus of schools, yet according to Tom McSheehy, family therapist, writer, educator and former teacher at Holmes School in Oak Park, key skills that are vital for learning and thriving in life aren't being taught to the extent that they need to be.

In memory of Anne Smedinghoff, River Forest's ambassador of peace whose vision of changing the world with books inspires us to follow her courageous lead by donating to Bernie's Book Bank. Help connect books that need children with children who need books!

Every once in awhile I come across a meaningful blog post, one worth sharing. Enjoy this post by Coach Aaron Nichols.

NAMI Metro Suburban, an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has served the Oak Park/River Forest community for the last 20 years, offering ongoing support to families, organizations and the community at large, and it's planning to celebrate! 

For many parents, there comes a time when nagging doubts and worries arise about our kid's involvement with mairjuana, alcohol, tobacco or other drugs . . . 

My to-do lists used to be long, never-ending checklists of routine tasks: grocery shop, clean kitchen, schedule doctor appointments, arrange play dates . . . These chores would consume a significant portion of my day, leaving me wondering what I had actually accomplished. 

I-290, Roosevelt Road and I-88 are often referred to as the Heroin Highways. They link heroin users in the suburbs to suppliers in Chicago. And according to a 2011 study conducted by the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy of Roosevelt University, Chicago and its suburbs are home to the nation's worst heroin problems.