Dealing With Difficult People During Family Gatherings? Do You Enjoy Your Family Gatherings or Endure Them? Kelly dreads big dinners with her extended family; something (more accurately, someone) always manages to spoil the occasion with their negativity.  Great Aunt Sophie is especially critical, saying Kelly lets her three-year old daughter, Jaime, “get away with too much.” Jaime is a busy little girl and doesn’t always want to stop playing to eat.  As Kelly called everyone to the dinner table, everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the feast before them. Dinner began well, but Kelly... (Read More ...)

Dealing With Criticism? Immunize Yourself Against Toxic People Most parents will attend a family gathering or visit relatives this Summer. Many will also endure a chronically negative or critical relative. You know who I mean. Every family seems to have at least one. That person we avoid all year long but have to see at  family gatherings because we’re related. If you don’t have a relative like this, count your blessings — then look at your workplace or neighborhood. You probably have someone in your life that fits this bill. However we know this person, we need a plan for keeping our... (Read More ...)