admin Now that summer is here, many of our children will be heading off to camp. Some will be attending overnight or “sleep away” camps for the very first time. While some children anticipate camp with eagerness and excitement, others evidence a range of negative emotions, including nervousness, fear, sadness and/or anger. Your child may be … Read more
Sometimes families are affected by an event or experience so traumatic that it seems to reshape the fabric of who they are and how they function as a family unit. Even when a traumatic experience happens to only one member of the family, its effects can be felt throughout the family system. When the individual … Read more
From an early age, we are taught that once we fall in love we live happily ever after and ride off into the sunset with our perfect mate. This kind of message often creates the misconception that relationship difficulties are abnormal and a sign that a relationship must be doomed. In reality, relationship difficulties are … Read more
The most important thing you can give your child is a sense of self-confidence. The foundation of self-confidence is self-esteem. Building self-esteem is a process and usually a slow one. Below are several tips for helping your child see him or herself as capable and competent, lovable and loving, unique and valuable. First, be available … Read more
In all relationships, an important part of effective communication involves trying to understand where the other person is coming from and what they are feeling. Thus, when communicating with your partner, children, friends, or colleagues, listening is often more important than talking. Listening is not as easy as it seems; with a few useful tips … Read more
Research on adolescent development is still somewhat in its infancy, as much of the research to date in the field of child development has focused on younger children. Thus, many of the ideas we have as psychologists (and as parents) about adolescence as a stage of development were not actually examined empirically until relatively recently. … Read more
Is your teen’s mood just part of growing up or something you should be worried about? It’s often difficult for parents to differentiate between normal moodiness and signs of an emotional problem, such as depression or anxiety, in their teenage children. In light of recent news of high profile cases of suicide among young people, … Read more
In today’s fast-paced world it is hard to find time to relax and connect with those who mean the most to us. Family members are pulled in a multitude of directions and by the time everyone is home from work or school it is time to run to either soccer practice or cub scouts, which … Read more
When your child receives a clinical diagnosis of ADHD, many questions/concerns go through your mind. Most parents say “Does my child have to take medication?” or “What other treatment options do we have?” In the past, ADHD was treated primarily with stimulant medications. The ongoing Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA Study) has … Read more
Most of us have been around people who bring us down with their negativity and pessimism and (let’s admit it) we all sometimes have days in which we, too, seem to focus on the glass being half-empty. As you might imagine, our tendency to see the glass as half-full or half-empty starts developing early in … Read more
