Research studies indicate that depression is one of the most frequently occurring mental health challenges for today’s children. As an example, a recent Fairfax County Youth Survey found that 22% of surveyed 6th graders and almost one-third of the teens surveyed in grades 8-12 reported experiencing significant symptoms of depression within the previous 12 month … Read more
Working with parents, I frequently hear myself saying, “You have to love the child you have – not the child you imagined you would have.” And as a parent, I frequently tell myself the same thing. Everyone who has children, is expecting a child, or is even contemplating having a child fantasizes about what his … Read more
Here are 10 simple resolutions to consider with regard to your parenting as you enter 2015, in the hopes of raising happy, healthy children: 1. Be present. It’s easier than ever to get sucked into our devices and to let them distract us from human connection. If we want to parent kids who have a … Read more
Time management is often a topic of discussion within my office, as well as, a source of conflict within many family homes. Upon first hearing about time management concerns, my response is typically to help families create predictable routines during moments when time becomes an issue, such as rushing around in the morning, getting to … Read more
As parents, we strive to do the right things for our kids. Unfortunately, many of the things we do in an effort to meet their needs actually work against the real goal of parenting, which is to create an environment in which children can grow into motivated, mature, and independent human beings. Below are a … Read more
I recently read an interesting article in The New York Times about raising a moral child. The article, “Raising a Moral Child,” was written by Adam Grant, a professor of management and psychology at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success.” The … Read more
All too often parents question and seek a better understanding of why their children act or react in ways that are often labeled as “challenging” or “misbehavior.” The frustrating thing is that there is no single answer to this question. In fact, various influencing factors can contribute to how children respond to certain situations. In … Read more
As parents, most of us have been witness to our children “melting down.” Whether your child is a toddler, a preschooler, school age, or even an adolescent, there are times when your normally relatively reasonable offspring seems to become someone else all together. Often this happens when children are tired and/or hungry, though sometimes these … Read more
Children with attention deficits don’t respond to traditional parenting strategies (including punishment and rewards) the same way as do children without the condition. This occurs because they don’t seem to learn from their mistakes, avoid behaviors because of punishment, or are motivated by rewards as easily as other children. As such, parents often second guess … Read more
As concerned parents, we think, plan, and sometimes obsess about how to prepare our children for their adult lives. We participate in their education, enroll them in sports and other activities, do what we can to build and maintain their self-esteem, try to instill good values, feed them healthful foods, save for college, keep track … Read more
