Perhaps you have found yourself yelling at the kids when you know they don’t deserve it. Maybe you can’t stop crying while reading a news article or watching a movie. Perhaps you find yourself raging to yourself, partner or spouse for no reason. We can feel confused by our reactions when they seem big and inexplicable. Conversely, we can become depressed when we under react and tolerate hurtful behavior.

According to Hallmark’s Birthday Trends and Statistics web page, most of us are born in August with the second most popular month for birthdays being July; so chances are over these upcoming summer months you are going to find yourself either hosting or going to a birthday party for, or with, your son or daughter. When you are with your child, you may be parenting alone. But even with varied access or custody rights on the part of the other parent of your child or their extended family – when birthday time for that child nears – a lot of people want to help share in that celebration. There is only one real birth day, so how do you best go about navigating those 24 hours and ensuring that your child has a good time?