Validation is a way of letting someone know we understand him or her. Being understood is an essential ingredient to feeling connected and supported. When someone important to us understands us, their hearing us helps us to tune into ourselves and accept our emotions as real and meaningful. This ultimately supports the growth of self-compassion… Read more »
Learn More
When people are asked what they most value and cherish, the overwhelming majority say the same thing: their family. Parents are deeply committed to doing what is best for their children but, at the same time, may lack the knowledge or skills to do so. This can be particularly challenging when parenting bright, spirited, strong-willed… Read more »
Learn More
The majority of psychologists, researchers and parenting experts have come to the same conclusion: spanking and other forms of physical discipline can pose serious risks to children. The American Psychological Association discourages any form of physical punishment, seeing it as both harmful and unnecessary. Thirty countries in the world have banned physical punishment of children,… Read more »
Learn More
Parenting can be the most difficult job in the world. Not only is every decision you make on behalf of that other person going to shape who they become, but it’s the only job where being filled with doubt is normal. If your mechanic approached you and said he fixed your brakes and he just… Read more »
Learn More
Nothing feels more like a fresh start more than becoming a parent. When a child is born, the future is one vast, clean slate riding on a sea of our finest hopes, dreams, and intentions. Yet, pretty much every parent quickly learns that the sea is much rockier than anticipated. This is not just because of… Read more »
Learn More
By Dr. Lisa Firestone and Joyce Catlett Raising children can be one of the most challenging jobs in life; it certainly is one of the most important. Renowned British pediatrician/ psychoanalyst, Donald Winnicott once told a group of parents: “You are engaged in founding the mental health of the next generation.” Although, as parents,… Read more »
Learn More
Most parents who look into the eyes of their brand new baby see whatever lies ahead as a clean slate. Nothing turns our focus more toward the future than having a child. Yet, attachment research tells us that the biggest predictor of how we will be as parents is how much we’ve been able to… Read more »
Learn More
The other day, a friend of mine texted me a picture of a sign in a shop window that said, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” She probably knew that with Mother’s Day around the corner, I’d most likely be writing something about motherhood and would get a kick out of the old expression…. Read more »
Learn More
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 »
Learn More
By Anonymous PsychAlive Member I’m 41 years old and I recently learned that I’ve lived my adult years searching for my parents. Not the obvious ones I was born to, but their replacements. My subconscious desire to have parents in my adult life has caused me years of discontent. The life of a child is… Read more »
Learn More