About

Life is a struggle, relationships difficult, and one of the most difficult relationships is that between a parent whose child is at heart a good kid, but is doing bad things. When I wrote ‘Parents Are People Too’, I wrote it to help parents and good kids.  Those who read the book, or ‘When Good Kids Do Bad Things‘ let me know I succeeded in being helpful.

I wish I could say life had gotten easier, relationships less difficult and that good kids were doing fewer and fewer things to drive parents crazy.  If anything, life has gotten harder for both parents and kids and that means relationships are more difficult, and more good kids are doing bad things.

This blog is for parents of good kids of all ages.  Parenting is not just a 24/7 job while launching your child into the world, it is a job that outlives all other jobs.  I invite you to join me in sharing thoughts, ideas, worries, sorrows, strengths and joys.

Why do I want you to share?  Gregory Bateson, a leading anthropologist and one of my gurus said in his book ‘Steps to an Ecology of the Mind‘, that “The map is not the territory.”

From the moment we are born we start building maps.  Some are fairly accurate, other not so.  Bateson also quickly added, “The more views of the territory, the better the map.”

So join with me to share what has worked for you in dealing with a kid that is or has turned your hair prematurely grey.

Do so with a full awareness that your map may not be covering the same territory as another’s. Being kind, speaking as I would want to be spoken to is my golden rule of sharing. I ask you to abide by that rule. As I used to tell the children in my life “I have a harder time hearing you when you yell.  If you attack me I have to defend me.”  Because some cannot resist the jab, I will moderate all posts.

Keep caring, it works.

You might also like to take a look at my Emotional Fitness Training™ blog.

Katherine Gordy Levine, M.S.S. Master of Social Service, LCSW Licensed Clinical Social Work.