From dinner time conversation skills to the lost art of the thank-you note, today’s parents are returning to old-fashioned, time-tested values.  In developing gratitude, good manners, and every other life skill, children look to parents to lead the way. Here’s how you can do just that — no matter how young your brood is:

Gab is good.

Parents await baby’s first word with a vigilance that rivals the arrival of baby himself.

The ability to communicate is one of the markers of leaving babyhood and entering full personhood.  In about 17 years, this ability will also be a marker of leaving home, and entering college.  Got SAT scores?

One of my favorite baby philosophies to ponder with parents is when a baby is no longer a baby?

It usually comes at me like this:  ”She’s growing so fast!” or  ”Does she look different to you?”  Sometimes a mom just sighs and says, “Ohh, he’s losing all his baby fat since he started walking.”

I tell parents that just as babies grow across diverse developmental domains, they also grow up in several observable ways.

Gravel scattered as the pint-sized Superhero leapt from the choo-choo train in a stumbling bound, and firmly planted his sock-and-sandal clad feet.

His glare dispersed part-time villains as a light breeze and healthy imagination buoyed his invisible, yet fluttering, red cape.