Emotion-coaching parents are those who see their child’s emotional reaction as an opportunity to engage with them, honor the emotion, and coach them through the accurate and appropriate expression of the emotion – especially the negative ones.
Common Challenges of Stepfamilies
In her book, “Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t,” Patricia Papernow, EdD, discusses the five common challenges that a stepfamily can face and offers some straightforward guidance to help address them.
Kids and Anxiety: How Parents Can Help
While it may be difficult for an adult to understand the fears of young children, those anxieties can seem very real and scary particularly to a child between the ages of three and six. As a parent, the best approach you can take in helping to soothe your child’s fears is to first model calmness and reassurance.
Family Time: Quality vs. Quantity
For many families, schedules start to get busier this time of year. Not only is school starting back up, but so are all of the extracurricular activities that come along with it. Between football practice, piano lessons, AP exams and parents’ increased work schedules, the coming of the school year often means less quality time spent together for many families.
Parents Don’t Have to Have All the Answers
It can be a humbling moment for a prideful parent to admit that he doesn’t have an answer for his children’s questions. It is inevitable though.
Blending Two Families Together
It’s good to ask, “What can I expect when my partner and I marry and we blend our two families together?” When blending two families together expect there will be an adjustment period for everyone in the family. Here is a quick glance at how to plan for blending two families together.
Seven Tips for Co-Parenting
A child can easily get trapped in the war and conflict of two parents getting a divorce. Some thoughts of children caught between parental conflicts could be “I need to fix the problem,” or “I’m the reason they are fighting.” Neither of which are true from an adult perspective but children experience divorce much different than adults. The best gift you can give your child when divorcing their parent is to do so respectfully and peacefully in the child’s presence.
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.
Preparing for a New School Year as a Family
It’s important to prepare for a new school year as a family. Family meetings, schedules, goals- these will help you start the school year right.
Identifying Coping Activities
In our busy culture, it is often hard to identify what we enjoy doing for fun, or self-care. I ask clients regularly what they enjoy doing for fun or self-care. You would think that I asked them how to save the planet! I get blank stares, shrugged shoulders, and “I … Read More