Since my husband's job has kept us "on the move" over the past few years, our family has inhabited quite a few different homes. Some have been newer or bigger than others, but, suffice it to say, they've all been pretty nice.

But, that doesn't seem to matter to my kids. If you were a fly on the window in our car, you would swear we live in a cardboard box under the overpass! Every large home we pass comes with sighs of awe and someone shouting out "I call that one!" from the…

Teaching children conflict resolution skills is probably one of the most important contributions that we can make! So when I came across this idea ... I just had to share.

I would like to thank a teacher named Ms. Lou for blogging about this tool she uses in her classroom in Canada.

So here's how it works:

First, you need a bug and a wand. In her classroom, the bug is a bee.…

So, last week, I had a play date (a time for some grown-up conversation while the children are preoccupied with someone else's toys).

But, this play date was a little different. Whereas most of my social encounters are with people whom I've known, at least for a little bit, this one was different. This "Mom" and I passed each other every day while picking up our children from their half-day at school--but, we never conversed, other than to nod or say "Good Morning."…

It was with a heavy heart that I read about the passing of Assemblyman Bernie Anderson earlier this month. Most of his colleagues probably don't know this, or perhaps don't remember, but Mr. Anderson was instrumental in funding the Neighborhood Mediation Center (NMC) here in Washoe County.

In 1997, he sponsored a bill (AB 208), which modeled the successful Clark County Neighborhood Justice Center program and encouraged smaller counties to start justice centers of their own.

The…

I was just reading an interesting article about mediation, and it explored something that I think most mediators would agree is essential to being impartial and unbiased: The ability to acknowledge there may be more than one "truth."Every time I watch a 24 hour news channel, it seems one pundit or another is discussing his or her own opinion, and I carefully watch the anchor. Does he or she seem to agree with one side over the other? Does he or she give more air-time to one side?…