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They should be able to confidently navigate independent situations. Being able to ask other adults for help, ordering fries from a fast food counter, helping a younger child at the playground, figuring out their own boundaries -- this all takes practice.

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I see how you fear that you aren't capable of being a good mom. I feel all good moms fear this, too.

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Well, it looks like we are at that time of year again, the Parent/Teacher Interview where you see how your child did over the course of the semester and where they are going next year. For parents of children with special needs, this can be both an exciting and terrifying visit. You hope they have improved, and if not so much, did you maybe do something wrong, did your child, did the teacher not reach them?

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It's June and school will soon be out for the summer. What better time to teach your kids about... real estate? Why? There's actually more than 500,000 reasons to do so. The number is really 508,097 -- as in dollars, the average price of a home in Canada as of April 2016, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. This represents a 13.1-per-cent year-over-year price gain. We need to educate our kids about the realities of property ownership before it overwhelms them.

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Each week, I sit in my office counselling couples and consulting with them about loss. Loss of the idea that they will have a biological child. By the time couples come in to see me for counselling, often they have been trying unsuccessfully, for years, to conceive a biological child.

There are so many parenting myths in circulation in society. Many are obviously myths and therefore easy to ignore. Others however seem far more ingrained and sound far more plausible. The plausibility and popularity of some of the top parenting myths cause a great deal of misunderstanding, and often stress, for parents of toddlers.

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I do not presume to know what goes on in a woman's mind before she undergoes a sex-selective abortion. I think that a woman who is making a decision about sex-selective abortion should receive counselling to ensure that the decision is hers alone and she knows her options.

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For parents of children with special needs top that with a tenfold of anticipated stress and anxiety that accompanies the thought of maintaining a manageable environment while "doing Disney." Our main goal was to make this trip as easy and enjoyable as possible. Thinking through the many catalysts that could trigger a breakdown and the tools that we could use to manage them, here's how to take away the cringe-worthy worry, survive Disney with special needs, and keeping everyone smiling.

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During my pregnancy and right after birth there were a lot of "warnings" about the havoc my little monster would create. How I wouldn't be able to function without sleep. How I would have to recalibrate. How I'd need to discipline. Heaps upon loads of advice on how to keep the baby from inconveniencing my routine, at any cost.

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I may have never taught you, but I want you to hear this: I feel I know you. I taught you, kid. Or versions of you. Taught you in kindergarten, in Grade 3, again in Grade 5 and in Grade 7. You moved quickly through the years. And now you are finally here, at the pinnacle of your secondary schooling career. You've reached the top, kid. This is it.

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Where's the village, people? She didn't intentionally drop her child into the enclosure. She lost sight of her toddler and a terrible chain of events ensued.

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Society seems to have an issue when a woman asks for help. Women are supposed to be superheroes. We're supposed to do it all and we're supposed to smile and make it look easy. We're supposed to be perfect mothers, wives, friends, employees and citizens, and we're not supposed to admit that we can't do it without a little help.

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What if, instead of "my ex", you use the first name of the child's mom or dad and/or you can say your child's name in conjunction with the relationship mom or dad that will help you focus on the parent-parent relationship. This creates an emotional detachment. It will relax the conversations you have with the co-parent (as opposed to the ex-spouse).

We live in one of the most expensive places to live in Canada, have some of the highest taxes, are one of the only provinces to pay a health premium -- and yet we are second to last in the country for education spending. How can this be?

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How do you as parents answer this question in a way that honors your child's curiosity and respects the feelings and the story of the stunned couple in front of you?

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Manners are increasingly taking a back seat and it shows. What stuns me is how completely oblivious people are to their own lack of manners in a given situation, but how quick they are to point out ill-mannered others. Time to take an etiquette selfie. You might be aghast at what you see.

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Shopping for dad is two-fold: the gift requires the right amount of meaning combined with practicality/function. When dealing with a new dad -- whether that refers to your brother, son, husband, cousin or friend -- the gift tends to carry even more weight. It's an exciting time in his life and you want to mark it with something perfect!