The Child Who Killed the Butterfly by Trying to Help It
A child watched a butterfly struggling to break free from its cocoon and reached in to help. The wise teacher stopped him. "If the butterfly comes out without developing the strength to break the cocoon, it cannot fly. Then it becomes food." That story changed how I raise my children.
The School That Heals Broken Children — A Testimonial From Dr. B That Got a Standing Ovation
He used to say to me — and I wrote this down because it stopped me cold — Forced goodness kills true goodness. He was sixteen years old when he said it. Already ten years ahead of the system that was failing him.
4 LAWS AI Is Hot: How One Busy Professional Went From "Maybe in a Month" to "OMG I Love It" in One Trial
She had no time. Maybe in a month she said. Then I said — you don't have to read anything, you don't have to learn anything. It's an AI. All you have to do is talk to it for a minute. She said — send it now.
I Carried a Revelation for Twenty Years. Then AI Gave Me a Way to Give It Away.
No estaba buscando una revelación. Solo estaba manejando. Lo que llegó a través de mí ese día tardó veinte años en regalarse — y una herramienta extraordinaria para finalmente entregarlo a todos.
A New Way to Live: An Interview with Dr. B
Some of these titles are alarming. "The Night I Told My Kids to Do Whatever They Want." "Spoil the Tantrum." You're a licensed psychologist — what is going on? Dr. B sits down for a conversation that starts with a challenge and ends with a different way to live.
The Gift
Six years ago I made a bet. I put my name on it. My own children. My own house. This is what grew.
Admired Pastor Condemned My Parenting Advice In a Bible Teaching I Attended
I was sitting on my day off, listening to a teacher I deeply respect. By the end of the hour, he had preached the exact opposite of everything I just published. I couldn't stop smiling.
I Used My Own Kids to Test My Theory
After almost 30 years of watching authoritative parenting fail the kids who needed it most, I stopped writing about the 4 LAWS and ran the experiment in my own house. I put my name on it. If my kids didn't make it, it was on me. That was over six years ago. I just got my answer.
You're Already Rich and Don't Know It
He'd been an amazing baseball player until a sports injury took everything. Then came the drinking, the cigarettes, the lottery tickets — always chasing the big win. Then lung cancer put him in a hospital bed, and a little boy walked through the door carrying his name, a checkerboard, and the fortune he'd been stepping over his whole life.
"Too Late. I Already Called 911 and I'm Recording Everything."
An older kid had been threatening Billy for weeks. "Don't snitch. You know what happens." Billy had already hit his hidden 911 button and his pen camera was rolling. He looked the bully in the eye: "Too late. 911 is already on the line and everything you're doing is being recorded. You just can't see the camera." The bully never bothered him again.
She Opened His Eyes. The 4 LAWS Changed the Verdict.
The psychologist told the judge he had no conscience. Then a letter arrived — from the one person nobody expected to hear from.
She Believed in the 4 LAWS. Then She Spoke Them to a Man in Prison.
She came from a family that loved hard and fought harder. Then she learned a different way to see — and when she looked at a man behind bars, she saw something no psychologist could find.
They Called Him a Problem Child — He Was Five Years Old and Terrified
He ran from classrooms. He hid under desks. He ripped posters off walls. Every adult saw a behavior problem. His mother saw a little boy who didn't feel safe anywhere — including with her.
The Superpower That Ruined the Game:
"My superpower is that I can make everyone friendly when they come near me." The kid stared at me. "You can't use that power." "Why not?" "It would ruin the game." He was right. And after 35 years as a clinical psychologist, I can tell you exactly how that power works.
When God Speaks in a Traffic Jam
It was 2005. I was stuck in traffic on a highway in New England, at one of the lowest points of my life.
I had just spent years developing a new treatment for oppositional defiant children — and it worked. Leaders in the field had tested it and recommended it. But there was a piece missing that I couldn't solve: I could treat the defiance, but I couldn't restore the parent-child trust. Not without months and months of sessions. The bond that had been broken between parent and child — I couldn't find a fast way to rebuild it.
Then came a life crisis that took everything from me. I lost it all. I was just getting back on my feet, barely standing, driving through traffic, and I wasn't praying so much as I was broken open.
Then something happened that I still struggle to put into words — not because it's vague, but because it's so vivid that language feels small next to it.