I recently attended the 25th Anniversary (the organization has worked with 11,000 families – wow!) of the Parenting Encouragement Program. Adele Faber spoke to a sold out crowd about her philosophy toward effective parent-child communication and her books that draw you in from the title alone. My favorites: How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk; Siblings Without Rivalry. Not only was Adele hysterical (she was a theater major & can act out a tantrum better than any 2-year-old I’ve seen!). But she was so thought provocative.  She talks about acknowledging your child’s feelings (“Oh, you feel really sad about this”) rather than negating them (“You shouldn’t be sad. Stop crying”). Her idea of giving choices was great (end a bathtime struggle with, “You have 2 choices, a bath with bubbles or without.”). And her idea of letting kids know that not only can they be good problem solvers, but that their problems aren’t trivial, but are “major, big,” is a powerful tool. I could go on and on, but rather than giving it all away, I’ll share a reporter’s note on the room full of parents. People laughed hysterically at her commentary on kids & parenting – it’s so clear that we’re all in the same boat. Challenges and obstacles are in every household — it’s how we keep our “continuing education” going that enables us to handle the bumps. Learning every day…