Parents and teachers usually find that children thrive with recognition. We’re so conditioned to warn them away from danger and improper behavior that often we forget to praise and give them encouragement.
When I finished conducting the writing workshop with the 15 youngsters I mentioned in my last post, I gave them certificates of achievement.  It’s usually not possible to do this when I visit schools as an author and to teach workshops simply because of the number of students involved.  (I do try to give out bookmarks instead.)
However, because there were only 15 young writers, I decided handing out certificates at …read more

I first discovered author and clinical psychologist Mary Kennedy when she left a comment about goal setting here on Career and Kids. She mentioned the “SMART” method of goal setting in her comment and I was interested to find out more. As soon as I clicked over to her website, I knew I had to interview her.
She’s one of those people who seems to have “done everything.” She is a multi-published author, and a clinical psychologist in private practice on the east coast. She specializes in forensic work, and her clients have included murderers, psychopaths and …read more