Last week I was honored to be able to spend each day traveling to different schools with Chris Waddell as he presents his Nametags program. Chris, a good friend from Middlebury College, started doing Nametags three years ago when he launched his foundation, One-Revolution.

The Penn State sex-abuse scandal has people up in arms, and in some ways we find ourselves in a similar position as when the scandal in the Catholic church was exposed – stung by the realization of the extent to which people will go to conceal what they wish to deny.

Thats beautiful, honey! I love it. You are such a great artist! Awesome job! Dont we want our kids to have positive self-esteem? So, complimenting them is a good thing, right? That depends. Self-esteem is a funny thing. We cant make our kids feel good about themselves by showering them with praise. In fact, that has the potential to actually do just the opposite.

Sure, the umbilical cord was cut when your baby was born. Someone dramatically made that SNIP, severing the physical connection between you and your child. Perhaps it was epidural, perhaps the sheer exhaustion after giving birth, but that SNIP didnt hurt a bit.