New Ideas for Resolutions

resolutions

It can be easy to get stuck in the same routine where you make the same resolutions year after year.  I can’t count the number of times I have promised myself to drink less caffeine!  If you have tried the same few resolutions each year, why not try something different … Read More

Good Pictures Bad Pictures

pictures

Some researchers are citing the age of 8 – eight years old!! – as the average age of exposure to pornography. And – that’s an average. Meaning that kids also encounter pornography at ages even younger than 8. Prior to the Internet era children typically didn’t discover porn until age … Read More

Mental Health In Our Schools and How We Can Help Students

trauma

About one in five children in the United States show signs of a mental health disorder – anything from ADHD to eating disorders and suicide. And yet, as NPR has been reporting in their series on the mental health crisis in U.S. schools, many schools aren’t prepared to work with … Read More

The Perfectionist Child

Perfectionist

A little perfectionist likes order, rules, and thrives on certainty. Perfectionism can start at an early age and when parents or caregivers give these children the support they need, they will thrive. However, it can be challenging to teach young children how to to deal with the inevitable reality that … Read More

Defense Mechanisms & Coping Skills – Denial – Part 2

denial

One of our most primitive defense mechanisms is denial. Mark Twain perfectly captured the essence of denial when he quipped, Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. In effect, denial is an effort to avoid the pain or discomfort of reality by pretending it doesn’t exist. It is the emotional … Read More

The Gift of Failure

Failure

Parenthood sparks a powerful, instinctive drive to protect. But, in reality, we do our kids a disservice when we do not allow them the space and opportunity to make decisions with the potential outcome of failure. Like Clark Kent, we are transformed from mild-mannered, everyday people into Authority Figures, Responsible Parties…Tooth … Read More

Blended Family: Tips for Surviving the Holiday Season

blended

If you are in a blended family, the holidays may seem like the most difficult time of the year rather than the most wonderful.  Splitting time between more than one household is can be stressful. Time always seems too short. You can’t please everyone or feel like you always draw … Read More

How to Parent with the Magic 5:1 Ratio

parenting

If you’re a parent, these lines are all too familiar. “Hurry and eat your breakfast, or you’ll be late for school. Stop teasing your sister. Do your homework. Clean your room. I’m taking away that NERF gun if you hit you brother one more time. Are you listening to me?!” … Read More

What Does Emotional Intelligence Mean? Part 1

marriage

Children experience the same emotions as adults. They can feel everything from happiness to sadness to anger to nervousness to even stress. However unlike adults, many children do not understand how to effectively deal with the range of emotions they experience. Just like other life skills parents pass onto their … Read More

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