Blog
Why is Parenting so Hard
Parenting is not hard because children are hard to raise. Read that again! Your challenges as a parent is NOT due to your child’s behavior. And sadly, this truth goes against our current culture that promotes parents complaining and talking poorly about their children...
Happy Social Work Awareness Month!
It is not enough to just simply say thank you to all our social workers who have been unsung heroes throughout this pandemic. This month, we are joining the country in celebrating their profession and the positive impacts their work has on the children, youth, and...
What is Gentle Parenting
Gentle parenting (also referred to as positive parenting or conscious parenting) is an evidence-based approach to raising happy, confident children. This parenting style is composed of four main elements: empathy, respect, understanding, and boundaries. Gentle...
How To Communicate With Children & Teens
Communicating with children and teens (and really anyone!) through empathy, compassion, and validation is SO much more effective at forming stronger connections and resolving any conflict or problem. As you read the statements below, notice what type of emotions they...
6 Strategies To Help Children Cope With Anxious Thoughts
Supporting children who struggle with obsessive thoughts, anxiety, and rumination is no easy task! But the right parenting techniques make a huge difference. Give some of these techniques a try and see how they work for your child. 1) Schedule Worry Time Teach your...
Goodbye 2021!
“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley
Free Mental Health Support for Plymouth-Canton High School
In moments of crisis and trauma, it is natural to want to withdraw and isolate. However, healing occurs when we are feeling connected and safe.
Free Oxford Shooting Support Group For School Staff
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Alike short film
A powerful short film that highlights a lot of important things, such as the parent-child relationship, importance of being in-tune with children’s internal world, and being conscious of how our society impacts our interactions with our children’s and their...
Why It’s Time To Start Thinking Differently About Our Mental Health Care
I became aware of the stigma surrounding mental illness in the Iranian culture when I was only a child, and it made me want to choose a career path so that I could do something to change it. Then in 2001 my family moved to America, and I quickly learned that the same...
Why Adults Should Join Children’s Play
I work with a lot of parents who are shocked to hear me say that I’m prescribing frequent and high quality play with their children as a method to reduce behavior and emotional problems and improve academic performance. I often get responses such as “my parents never...
How to Ensure Your Family has a Balanced Screen Time Diet
we need to start thinking about screen time as a diet I have the most love-hate relationship with technology. I wouldn’t be able to survive a day without all the ways it makes my life so much easier, and I hate how hard it is for me to unplug from it. But research...
When We Should Consider Psychiatric Medications for Children and Teens
The topic of psychiatric medications, especially regarding children, is a controversial one. Many people are greatly against any meds, others talk about how their lives or the lives of others were saved by them, but most don’t know enough to make the right decision....
Is Parenting A Selfish Act?
This blog post is not intended to shame parents, but LIBERATE parents and help them release some of the societal burden placed on them on what it means to be a good parent and to parent less through their own parenting ego and more through the awareness of their...
Celebrating Children For Who They Are – Part 2
“Children are more than their ability to sleep through the night. They are more than their willingness to instantly obey. They are more than a grade. They are more than a mood. They are more than they display at any given moment, more than what we see on the surface....
How to Celebrate Children for Who They Are
“Children are more than their ability to sleep through the night. They are more than their willingness to instantly obey. They are more than a grade. They are more than a mood. They are more than they display at any given moment, more than what we see on the...
Why We Should Celebrate Children for Who They Are
I am writing today to the parents and the grandparents, to the people who will soon begin a relational journey with a child or wish to at some point begin that journey, to the people who have the privilege of working professionally with children, and to the people who...
Collaborate Problem Solving
Most parents tell me about how frustrated they feel not being able to get their children to become more compliant, less aggressive, more independent, and less avoidant. They feel that they have tried everything from praise, punishment, and setting boundaries, and...
What is Executive Functioning?
Executive Functioning (EF) refers to our problem solving, organization, planning and emotion regulation abilities. This morning when you planned out your day and carried it out, you were using your EF skills. When you figured out where to park your car, cook your...
3 Steps to Mindful Parenting
This is the final chapter of my blog series on mindfulness. I am wrapping it up with talking more specifically about mindful parenting and how it looks different from general mindfulness, and I really hope that you will find the content both educational, practical,...