Responding to Parent Social Media Concerns
I have recently been asked about the following article from Medium.com by multiple parents: “I’m a 37-Year-Old Mom & I Spent Seven Days Online as an 11-Year-Old Girl. Here’s What I Learned.” Parents have asked about my opinion of child social media use in light of this article, and generally how concerned they should be. […]
From Pacifier to Pacifying: Are We Silencing Our Children?
Over the last 3 months at home with a newborn little boy, I have become quite familiar with the use of a pacifier. After just a few short days home from the hospital, I remember holding my little boy as I was trying to get him to stop crying. I quickly reached for the pacifier […]
Changing Unhelpful Thoughts into Helpful Thoughts
In fits of frustration, an intense and upset child might exclaim, “I hate my life! I’m so stupid!” These kids sometimes hit themselves, destroy their work, and seem out of control. It can be really hard to listen to your child say terribly mean things to himself. It can be scary to think your child […]
48 Hours with a Tablet: Lessons Learned
My family did some traveling for Thanksgiving, and we typically use a portable DVD player to keep our 6 and 3-year-old daughters content during longer trips. Before the trip, I took the girls to the library and saw they have tablets with various educational games to check-out. So, thinking that this would be a better […]
A 2019 “Gifts That You Can’t Tie With A Bow” List You Can Feel Good About
The best things in life aren’t things. Yeah, yeah…As I browse Amazon for the annual load of junk that will inevitably clutter up my house until it’s time to do it again next year. I don’t know many kids that will wake up on Christmas morning excited to show gratitude for heat, water and the […]
Crying Over Spilled Hot Chocolate: An Opportunity for Teaching Self-Regulation, Problem-Solving, and Growth Mindset
The other day, I came home to find my 6 year old son flat on the kitchen floor, red faced, and cry-yelling, “I am so STUPID and I can’t do ANYTHING and NOTHING is working and we don’t even have any paper towels!!” A quick scan of the kitchen revealed a counter of spilled milk […]
The Parenthood GPS: Recalculating
Imagine you have a trip planned. You’ve been looking forward to it for months and have done all of the things to prepare. The essentials are packed and,maybe, packed beyond what’s necessary- just to be safe. Everything is ready to go and the anticipation is mounting. You hop into the car, punch the destination into […]
Being a Pillar When Facing Conflict
Anyone who spends a lot of time with adolescents is used to hearing about the day-to-day “drama” of peer relationships. For teens prone to anxiety and low self-esteem, even relatively minor conflicts with peers can create elevated distress. These are teens who tend to have difficulty accurately interpreting non-verbal cues and who react strongly to […]
Re-thinking Lists: Helping Kids Take Action When it’s Time to Get Things Done
One of the things I hear most frequently when working with adults on executive function is how fond we all are of lists. We love checking off our completed tasks, feeling accomplished, and perhaps that sense of relief that comes with the inherent brain dump (cognitive offloading) simply creating a list can afford. Coincidentally, one […]
“Remember when…” A Helpful Way to be Mindful of How Your Child Experiences a Moment
In a moment of conflict, frustration, or exhaustion, we can easily lose sight of the impact our words and actions have on our kids. We may be flooded with our own emotions and needs, such that we are not pausing to consider what is happening inside our child. We may be very aware of […]