Today, my column on parenting debuts on FairfaxCityPatch.com. 

As for my expertise in this area, I'm a certified Leadership Parenting Coach. But more than that, I'm a mother of four, three of which attend Fairfax City public schools. As a teenager, I watched how my parents reared more than 40 foster childern, many of whom were members of our household for several years. That gave me a front-row seat in handling children from a wide variety of backgrounds, and I think that experience has helped shape my parenting views today.

Of course, I would love to hear from parents about your questions relating to child-rearing and other parenting issues. Together, we can work to becoming better parents.