The other day I recommended the movie Inside Out to my friend, Cynthia, as an intervention. Her favorite niece, Emily, is going through puberty. The sweet little girl who used to love shopping and doing craft projects with her aunt, is now moody and not interested in sharing those activities. Cynthia feels hurt about this… Read more »
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As we welcome in the New Year we also look at goals and new opportunities to explore in the coming year. A fresh start. As parents, it might be a great time to reflect on how you are supporting your kids in building a stronger sense of self. Sometimes as parents we can get a… Read more »
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Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s interview with Dr. Allan Schore. Dr. Allan Schore explains how to optimize a child’s capacity to regulate their own emotional states. Dr. Allan Schore: The right hemisphere is in an early growth spurt from the last trimester of pregnancy through the second year of life, which overlaps perfectly all of the… Read more »
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As a middle school teacher, I constantly have parents come to me and ask if I would be willing to impose a rule for my class that students cannot use social networking sites like twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, or any of those types of social networks at home, because they don’t want to be the bad… Read more »
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Research has shown that there are positive effects of praising children, but it depends on what kind of praise we’re dishing out. A recent Stanford study of toddlers showed that “praising effort, not talent, leads to greater motivation and more positive attitudes toward challenges” down the road. These findings are consistent with previous research, which has connected… Read more »
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Kermit the Frog was right – it’s not easy being green. When the famous Muppet and Sesame Street star performed his hit song, “Bein’ Green,” he described a lonely path of self-discovery. Kermit sang: It’s not that easy being green; Having to spend each day the color of the leaves. When I think it could… Read more »
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Writing life stories has become all the rage. We’re in the so-called Memoir Revolution with volumes written about how to write your life story or memoir and how to produce it into a book. I’ve been journaling for years, and I wrote a memoir and had it published just recently. But a long time before… Read more »
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As parents, our children’s health ranks among our top priorities. When fall arrives and flu season begins, we notice every cough and feel for signs of fever. But how attuned are we to mental health symptoms in our kids? When do we first notice that our child may be suffering emotionally or engaging in behavior… Read more »
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“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” – Abraham Maslow Seeking out the assistance of a therapist is a desperate and courageous act. Typically, for a parent, it means they have tried and failed to help their child behave, so they have friends, get along with siblings and family members,… Read more »
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The heartwrenching stories and startling statistics coming out about bullying are commanding a justified level of concern in parents. With new data revealing that more kids are affected by bullying and cyber-bullying than we ever imagined and that both bullies and victims are at higher risk for suicide, our eyes are opening to the fact that… Read more »
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