Our Schools & The Mental Health Crisis

Our schools are experiencing a mental health crisis. In any given year, up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder. What can we do to identify these students within our schools and connect them to the resources they need? In … Read More

The Power of Play

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Kids look like small adults. At times, they may even sound like mini grownups–especially when they get a little sassy or parrot back a parents’ own words to them. External resemblance aside, kids process things much differently from adults. Kids’ brains haven’t matured to the same place that an adult … Read More

What exactly is adolescence?

teenagers

For many parents, understanding a bit about their teenager’s brain development can be helpful in navigating the sometimes difficult adolescent years. But first, what exactly are the adolescent years? What does the term “adolescence” even mean? Researchers and scientists have had a pretty difficult time coming to a consensus definition. … Read More

Back to School!

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Transitioning from summertime to a new school year can be a stressful time for both kids and parents. Children and teens must adjust to a new schedule, new teachers, friendship changes, new work expectations, and maybe even a new school! Parents must help them navigate all of those changes while … Read More

The College Experience – Learning How to Budget

budget

Experience is a great teacher. We learn though successes, we learn through mistakes, and we even learn from the internet. This summer, we are helping our students learn before their college experience. We have pulled together our experience in working with some of the brightest students, experience from working on … Read More

The College Experience – Substance Use & Peer Pressure

Experience is a great teacher. We learn though successes, we learn through mistakes, and we even learn from the internet. This summer, we are helping our students learn before their college experience. We have pulled together our experience in working with some of the brightest students, experience from working on … Read More

Why Are Teens So Stressed Out? Part 2

In the first part of this blog, we looked at how chronic stress is beginning to impact teens in high school. Earlier this month, The Atlantic Magazine addressed this issue in their article “High Stress High School”. Teens are under increasing pressure/stress related to academic performance, intense focus on college applications/decisions, standardized test score performance and balancing their daily activities. In our previous post, we identified signs of chronic stress in teens and here are a few ways teens can cope with stress in a healthy manner. Developing healthy coping skills can be a lifelong goal, but parents can encourage and model good coping skills for their teens, right when they need it most!

One hour to becoming a better spouse and parent.

We all know the importance of good habits. As we head back in to the school year, it’s not uncommon for parents to begin helping their children by establishing schedules that include things like regular homework time or a routine bedtime. However, the start of the school year can be a great time for parents to re-examine their own schedules and routines as well. One area that can be particularly helpful for many couples is to establish some routines or habits around spending time together.