Now that the school year has officially started for many families, you and your child may be a few months in and the honeymoon may be over! In my experience of working in school settings for 25 years, October is when it can start getting rough for children, parents AND teachers.

In almost every family, emotional boulders will fall onto children's paths as they try to navigate school. Parents try incentives, strict expectations, lectures, pleading, logical consequences, and more. But the difficulties remain.

I'll offer a new set of ideas and give parents 2 specific tools for helping to relieve the tension that builds when a child faces a difficult assignment or social situation. I'll answer questions and show how parents can help their child build confidence, solve problems, and gain competence.