As parents we all know that reading to our children is important, but did you know that you can help your child develop empathy for others and learn other lessons through reading?  Studies have been done with children as young as 18-24 months, finding that parents were able to help teach their children about helping and sharing through reading.  To teach your kids to help and share through reading, the key...

I connected with two of my child therapist friends this past week, and I took the opportunity to ask them what they want parents to know right now.  They both had similar answers but one rose to the top.  As child therapists, they wish parents would relax and stop catastrophizing.

Phones are ringing off the hook for child therapists everywhere — my friends included.  Parents are anxious and scared,...

As a parent, do you feel like your emotions can sometimes drive you to react in a way that you later regret?  When your kids are fighting and emotions are high, do you get sucked into their emotional vortex?  Alternatively, if they are super excited or happy, can they help lift your mood too?  This is no surprise — because as it turns out, emotions are more contagious than a cold or the flu....

When you make a mistake are you the first person to beat yourself up?  If you’re like most of my clients (and many friends), you likely berate yourself for your mistake. Most parents want their children to develop positive self-talk and be kind to themselves, but that’s not what we model for them when we beat ourselves up. I have to teach my clients the power of having their own back, especially when...

Are you concerned about the emotional health of your kids?  This week my daughter shared that over 100 students have been hospitalized at her high school for mental health this year.  That’s just one school.  I can’t even fathom what that means on a nationwide basis.

Hearing about this mental health crisis with our kids, have you ever wondered if there is anything that you can do to help...

Are your kids struggling with anxiety?  With everything that’s going on in the world, many people are experiencing heightened emotions.  Our kids easily pick up on the emotions around them, so it’s not surprising that your kids might be experiencing more anxiety right now too.

And, you might be finding that it’s coming up in completely unexpected areas — which is completely normal...

As parents, we typically have an expectation of how things will go for our kids.  But what happens when they don’t turn out as we expected?  When this happens, do you think that something has gone wrong?  

I invite you to take a minute and think about how you react and how you parent from a place of “something has gone wrong”.  For most of my clients, when they believe...

When was the last time you got or gave a big bear hug, and you were really present for it?  Hugs make us feel good.  When someone hugs us it’s comforting, and we give hugs as a way to comfort others.  We usually don’t give much thought to it, but there is so much research on the impact of hugs on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.  Hugs are very powerful from a parenting...

Do you feel like you’re in the dark about what’s going on in your child’s life?  Do you find yourself asking lots of questions to try to connect more and keep up to date on where they’re at and how they’re doing?  I know that’s my first instinct!  How was school?  What did you do? Is everything okay? What happened?  Did you get all of your homework done?...

Do you wish there was a golden key to make parenting easier?

I have to admit, I worked on trying to be a better parent for years.  In my search for the golden key, I read books, I observed and talked to other parents and some experts and although I would see some changes in some areas, I would still struggle in others.

At the time, I was also running and growing a company.  Being a mom, wife and working...