Keeping a child motivated can be a challenge, but there are several strategies that can help. Firstly, it's important to create a supportive and encouraging environment. Praise your child for their efforts and achievements, and provide constructive feedback when necessary. Setting realistic goals and celebrating their progress can also boost motivation.

Secondly, finding activities that your child is passionate about can help maintain their motivation. Encourage them to explore different hobbies and interests, and provide opportunities for them to pursue their talents. Taking an interest in their passions and supporting their endeavors can inspire them to stay motivated.

Additionally, providing structure and consistency is important. Establishing a routine that includes time for study, play, and relaxation can help your child stay focused and motivated. Setting expectations and offering rewards for reaching milestones can also be effective in maintaining motivation.

Lastly, be a...

Hello Moms and Dads,

Improving your child's focus requires a combination of different approaches that include positive reinforcement, a balanced diet, and physical exercise. One important step is to create an engaging and calming environment in your home, which minimizes distractions and helps your child focus on the task at hand.

Do you find yourself being overwhelmed by your child's behavior on Mother's Day? 

Mother's Day was always a stressful day for me.  I wanted so badly for it to be nice, but my husband and I had grown distant and Jazzy's behavior was just too much for us to handle at the time.  As a matter of fact, this was the same scenario for all holidays.  We were all hoping that everything would turn out okay and I would overcompensate by cooking a ton of food and end up burned out because I ran out of time and energy.  

There was nothing that I could do to mitigate the impending anxiety that surrounded such a special day.  Or so I thought.  

I Was Ready for a Change

I wanted a different experience and I prayed on it.  I decided that whatever experience I desired would come to me and I committed to taking the action steps that I was being guided to take. 

As I worked to improve Jazzy's behavior and school performance, I learned something especially...

Is your child struggling with reading in school? Is it affecting their self-confidence? If the answer is yes, I understand exactly what you’re going through. I’ve worked with kids who were reading below their grade level, and I could see the toll it took on them and their parents. 

If you think about it, you might realize that most of your child’s day includes some kind of reading. Your child can handle it in one of two ways. They can be excited to read and raise their hands like they’re trying to put out a fire. Sound familiar? Or they can be the kid that acts out to avoid reading and related schoolwork by any means necessary. Which type of kid do you think interests me the most? Yep, you guessed it: the one that’s saying, “I hope the teacher is absent today.”

Why did I just loooooove working with kids with both behavior problems and reading problems? Well, because I knew that, just like your child, they were good kids with...

Hello Moms

I am writing to you today because I have something that I need to get off my chest.

I feel like the behavior and literacy problems that our babies are having in school are so unnecessary.

Don't get me wrong.  I know that this is a huge problem.  I am quite aware that there is no simple solution.

But there is a solution.

Whenever I get into a conversation about why this problem exists, everyone starts pointing the finger.  And this is when I get aggravated.

The parents are blaming the schools.

"The teachers don't know how to teach our kids.  It's the new curriculum.  That new math is hard.  They send too much homework home.  The teachers don't have a connection with our children."

The schools are blaming the parents.  

"The parents don't work with their children at home.  The kids have problems at home.  Many of the children have divorced or single parents. Many of our students come from low-income...

All too often when our children need something, we put ourselves on the backburner.

I lived on the back burner.  And the fire was on!

It was getting to the point where if I wanted to do something simple like take a shower or eat, I would check to see if anyone else needed anything first. 

And of course, they did.  They all did.  I mean, I had trained them to always need something.

So that led to two issues.

One, anything and everything that I wanted to do had to wait.  Most times, they did not happen at all.

So yeah, sometimes I would be dying to have a good old shower or feeling like I am going to pass out from hunger but I would be doing something else that needed to be done.

I needed a serious change.

Download The Get Your Life Back Checklist Now

Two, my daughter the mastermind genius grew to use this to her advantage.  So, she would act out on purpose just to get me to stop whatever I was doing and focus on her.

She would create elaborate...

Hello Moms. I’m going to share something with you about my daughter, Jazzy. What most people don’t know about Jazzy is that she is highly intelligent. Has been since she was a baby. When she was three years old, I saw her reading and turned my entire dining room into her classroom. She was reading, writing, adding and subtracting along with a myriad of other skills before going to preschool.

There is a serious need for literacy advancement in this country. It always pained my heart to watch a child struggle to read or complete schoolwork on their own. I always imagined how they must feel. Reading is about 75% of the school day. If children cannot read, they cannot spell. If they cannot spell, then they cannot write. They are already set up for failure.

What does that look like at school? Well, they are refusing to read, refusing to do classwork or homework, and thinking up excuses to leave the classroom. All of these behaviors make the job of teaching more challenging. Also, while working as a mental health specialist for the University of Behavioral Healthcare, at UMDNJ in Newark NJ, I saw a direct link between illiteracy and behavior problems. I wondered if helping kids become successful at school would become the catalyst for other positive and healthy changes needed in their lives.

Also, I’ve worked with many parents who weren’t as involved as they...