parenting advice

Top 8 Ways to Protect Your Kids Online and Improve Communication in the Family

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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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Talks About the Secret Life of Teenagers and the Lack of Parental Awareness

Watch an exerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino talks about a study that reveals how secretive some teenagers can be about themselves. Dr. James Garbarino: In that Secret Life of Teenagers study, we did find that with males also, there were things that parents didn’t know about.  But, in… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Talks About the Impact of the Secrecy that is Common Among Adolescent Girls in our Society

Watch an exerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino talks about a common communication gap between adolescent girls and their parents. Dr. James Garbarino: I think one of the common themes in the lives of girls who get hurt by peers is this code of silence.  You know, there’s a… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Discusses Various Causes of Aggression in Boys and Girls

Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino discusses the correlation in violence between the sexes. I published a book, Lost Boys, in 1999.  The subtitle is,  “Why our Sons are Growing More Violent – What we can do about it.”  And almost immediately, people kept saying, “Well, what… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Discusses Promoting Resilience in Boys

Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino talks about promoting resilience in boys based on their individual characteristics and temperament, and counter-socialization. Dr. James Garbarino: I think if a parent was setting out to instill resilience in a boy, they could think about some of this research on… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino talks about the Parental Influence on a Child’s Sense of Self

Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino talks about encouraging children to enjoy life through their own accomplishments. Dr. James Garbarino: I think it’s important that parents have a sense that who they are will have some impact on who the children think the children are and what… Read more »

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VIDEO: Dr. James Garbarino Offers Practical and Insightful Guidelines for Parenting

Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. James Garbarino. Dr. James Garbarino advises tips on raising self-disclosing adolescents. Dr. James Garbarino: Well, I think at one level, there are some preventive things.  There’s some research on adolescents – parents’ awareness of adolescents’ actual experiences.  And the finding naturally was that adolescents who disclose… Read more »

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The Problem with Overpraising Children

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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Benefits of Mindful Parenting

You’re running late, picking up some last-minute groceries. Your 7-year-old is dressed for baseball practice, and your 3-year-old has just kicked off her shoes in the middle of the freezer aisle. Frantically, you attempt to put her shoes back on, which sends her into a tantrum. At this exact moment, your 7-year-old catches a glimpse… Read more »

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VIDEO: Teaching Children to Appreciate Life

In her interview with PsychAlive Senior Editor Lisa Firestone, Dr. Donna Rockwell talks about engaging children in the appreciation for being alive. Donna Rockwell:  Another thing that I did with my kids all growing up is when they would go to sleep at night, I’d say, Before we go to sleep after we’ve read, I’d… Read more »

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