Positive Parenting: Setting Limits with your Child
Maddie McGarrah , M.Ed.
Whether your child or children express it or not, rules and limits are good for them. Children thrive off consistency, and a great way to help provide consistency to your child is when you are setting limits for them....
How to Help Your Anxious Child
Allison Bates , M.S.
Hello all! A lot of the adults I see suffer from variations of anxiety and struggle to cope with it effectively. It is potentially even more frustrating for kids who have anxiety to develop the coping skills to process...
Returning to the School Building
Kids have been out of school for almost 7 months and families are now figuring out if, and when, their kids will return to school. The uncertainty of “what is best” can cause stress on families. Changes and transitions...
Resetting the Household Through the Fall
Who thought we would still be social distancing, wearing masks, or not returning to work or school right now? It has been a huge adjustment to have our kids home all day and try to entertain them. Lots of...
Preparing Our Kids for Virtual Schooling
This year has been full of many changes for people of all ages. School as our kids have known it has taken a dramatic change and the changes are going to keep coming. So how do we prepare them...
Mom Just Listen to Me!
Sometimes we don’t feel like our parents listen to what we’re trying to say. That can be extremely frustrating and often leaves us feeling misunderstood. Here are a few tips to getting your parent to listen to what you’re...
Criticism vs. Complaint
In the past two months, we have been in close quarters with our partners and noticed some cute and some not so cute habits of theirs… Or maybe things were rocky before sheltering in place, and now those issues...
Wondering About a Learning Disability? 3 Signs for Parents
Rebecca L. Marshall , Ph.D.
Parents often consult me about signs of a learning disability in their children. Sometimes difficulties are obvious, such as when an adolescent struggles year after year to pass math or when a child struggles to learn to read long...
The Power of Music and Dance
Most of us love music and find ourselves singing or dancing along when our old favorite songs come through our radios. Almost everyone can think of times music and dance has positively impacted their lives. It can send shivers...
How to Manage Our Household Anxieties
So here we are, still at home with school remaining out, all due COVID-19 and keeping each other healthy and safe. Yet, how do we keep our household happy and calm with everyone home and getting annoyed? We have...
Helping Your Middle Schooler Be Safe in a Technological World
Middle school is a time in your child’s life where they will embark in curiosity like never before. Middle schoolers are constantly growing, changing, and exploring; and in 2020, times are different, as most interactions with each other are...
Suicide Prevention
Suicide is an epidemic that has been impacting our nation and community. It’s important to take some time to touch on this difficult topic. A big part of this is learning to be intentional about noticing things in your...
How NOT to Talk to Someone With Anxiety
It has been my experience that usually when we respond to those who are struggling, we are all trying our best to be as empathetic and kind as possible to our friends and loved ones. While our intentions are...
Giving the Gift of Validation
Validation is important because it communicates I hear you, I see you, and I care. When experienced from others it can feel like you have received the gift of acceptance and feeling understood. This is what makes learning the...
The Poverty of Pity
As someone who holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature, I’m very aware of how tricky words can be. For instance, pity is often used synonymously with the term compassion, but the two couldn’t be any more different. Compassion...
More than a “Bad Mood”: Identifying Teenage Depression
Adolescence is riddled with changes, being a teen means wrestling with identity, self-image, belonging, and much more. There are constant transitions which can be confusing and difficult for parents and teens to navigate. We know another contributing factor is...
Video Games – How Much is Too Much?
We have all seen the rise and fall of trends in play in our children: slime, fidget spinners, and more, but what seems to stick around are video games. These games stick around because there is always something new...
How to Tackle Bedtime
Getting down a bedtime routine is like nailing the perfect recipe. In order to have a successful, stress-free, bedtime there are a few keys ingredients that go a long way when it comes to sweet dreams. Consistency Try to...
5 Tips for Improving Your Child’s Sleep Hygiene
It’s common knowledge that children need plenty of sleep. Depending on their age, most children need anywhere between 9 and 13 hours of sleep in order to be at their best. While children sleep, their brains are actively sorting...
How To Talk To Your Kids About Going To Therapy
There are many different ways a child becomes one of my clients: I’ve had kids google therapists, print out my profile, and ask their parent to schedule an appointment with me, often times families are referred, or maybe...