“I just want to be happy!” Young and old, male and female, rich and poor, we utter these six simple words. If you ask parents what they most want for their kids, they say the same thing—“I just want them to be happy.” Why is this precious human emotion so available to some and so […]
Do You Want to Avoid the Next Fight?
Most people are now aware that high levels of conflict–loud, angry or bitter fighting–can be tremendously destructive not only to marriages and intimate relationships but can cause lasting harm to the children caught in the crossfire. As painful as divorce can be for kids, what we know now is that excessive fighting is what troubles […]
10 Tips to Help Kids Cope with War & Traumatic Events
“I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, ‘Mother, what was war?’” ~Eve Merriam These are uncertain, turbulent times, colored as they are by fears about war and terrorism. As a result, children as well as adults are experiencing higher levels of stress. When a flu bug is going around, conscientious parents […]
My Child Is Afraid of the Dark–Is That Normal?
“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased by tales, so is the other.” –Francis Bacon Young and old, child or adult, fear is one of our companions in life, and we should be glad that it is. Our brains are hard-wired to […]
10 Tips to Get Your Kids to Read
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” -Dr. Seuss in I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! School’s out and summer is upon us. Parents everywhere are trying to figure out what to do with their kids. One universal problem, documented […]
How to Eliminate Envy & Practice Empathy
The White family overwhelms my office with noise and activity from the first moment they arrive for family therapy. The three boys, aged 6, 10, and 13, immediately begin to argue over who sits where. Pouncing on one another’s laps, they push and poke. The youngest one screams as though he has been mortally wounded. […]
