“Because I said so!!”How many times did your parents say this phrase to you? How often were you spanked as a child? How much yelling was there in your house growing up?It’s safe to say that parenting styles have changed over the years. While spanking may have been deemed okay years ago, most parents agree now that hitting a child...[ read more ]
How many parents have said at one point or another, “I wish my child would have come with a users’ manual,”? Nearly every single one.Nothing can really prepare us for parenthood. No class, no advice, and no user manual can give us the tools we require for raising happy and healthy kids. The truth is, to be good parents requires...[ read more ]
Have you heard the phrase “helicopter parent?” It describes a mother or father that ‘hovers’ around their child 24/7, overseeing their life to keep them from every potential danger, pitfall and mishap. It looks good on paper, but this kind of parenting forgets one important fact of reality: life happens.Adversity happens to all of us. Those children who engage with adversity...[ read more ]
It's tough trying to get your teen to talk. Science has shown that the teenager's brain has yet to fully develop the frontal cortex, which is the area that controls our ability to reason, and to think before we act. As your teen's brain develops, they're also learning new things about themselves and their surrounding world; simultaneously, they're dealing with...[ read more ]
Back when many of us were growing up, our parents would yell at us to shut the TV off and go outside and play. Parents of generations past knew that fresh air and sunshine were ultimately healthier than watching the “boob tube.” And back then the boob tube was far gentler than it is today!But with each passing generation of...[ read more ]
It's well known that the teen years are the most trying time for parents. It may seem like their rebellion is personal, and that they're determined to make your home life miserable; but in reality, this is a natural process. Your teenager is maturing both physically and emotionally, and their brain is still developing. When their frontal cortex develops in...[ read more ]
If your child is sensitive to the emotions of others, worrisome and easily overwhelmed by changes or new people and environments, you may have a highly sensitive child. Parenting can be demanding, and parenting a highly sensitive child can present additional challenges. However, with a few simple strategies, you can better manage everyday problems and create a more peaceful home...[ read more ]
The concept of selflessness is often seen as a virtue; and yet, if we fail to fulfill our own needs and nurture ourselves, we are less able to help and serve others.As a parent of a child with special needs, you probably spend most of your days so busy with the demanding needs of your family that you neglect to...[ read more ]
Every Halloween, little girls all over the country choose costumes that reflect what they want to be when they grow up. And each year we see many girls choosing to dress as princesses and fairies, kitty cats and maybe the odd super hero. Rarely do we see young girls dressing as executives, scientists, or world leaders.It can seem benign enough,...[ read more ]
After the tragedy at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, certainly no one could imagine that over the next 20 years, 200 more school shootings would occur. In the first 79 days of 2018 alone, there were 12 school shootings, compared to 9 over the entire year of 2017. Sadly, school shootings are becoming an epidemic in the...[ read more ]
