ADHD & heart screening tests?
If your child takes medication for ADHD, are regular electrocardiograms necessary? Well, it depends on whom you ask, apparently.
Coping Skills for Kids–part 2
Yesterday, I defined coping skills. Today, I'm listing some on how to help your child improve their coping skills. * First, talk to your child about emotions. They need to be able to recognize their own emotions (as well as the emotions of others) in order to cope with them!
Coping Skills for Kids, part 1
A coping skill is any trick, technique, or habit that you use to "deal with" something. For example, when you feel anxious, you might say to yourself: "I'm okay, I can handle this, it's going to be okay." That's called "positive self-talk.
WOW! I really like how you clicked on that link just now! ;^)
Praise is another one of the classic parenting techniques that is now subject to some controversy. I don't mind tipping my hand here--I'm firmly in the pro-praise camp. But, like so many other areas of parenting, the devil's in the details, so to speak... The way that praise is given makes a huge difference.
Good for him!
As an MSSW first-year intern, I worked at a residential treatment facility for teenage male sex offenders. I didn't ask for that job, and it was really-really challenging, but I definitely learned an enormous amount there. This is one of my favorite stories from that time. I worked with a psychiatrist who was a super smart guy. He was completely [...]
How Does Play Therapy Work?
A dad I know asked me about play therapy the other day. Does it really work? How does it work? How can play be therapy?"Oh," I said, "Good Question!" ;^)Children aren't cognitively or verbally able to process everything that happens to them in their lives (shoot, neither am I!) nor do they have the cognitive or linguistic development for insight-oriented [...]
Oh, Good Question!
Earlier this week I had an initial appointment with a physical therapist. Towards the end of our visit, he gave me some instructions for things to do at home. I sortof understood, but wanted clarification, so I asked a question. This is where things went downhill.
Teasing
Is your school-aged child being teased? Kids can really be mean to each other, and when our kids hurt, we hurt, too. The older they get, the harder it is to fix things for them. The good news is that there are concrete, positive steps you can take to help your child handle teasing. Respond to this problem on two [...]
Keeping the Calm
Parenting is really hard work. Some days are harder than others, and everybody loses their temper sometimes. The parents I work with acknowledge this truth, but also want to grow and change. They want to lose their tempers less frequently, and when they do succumb-they want the overall experience to be yet further muted. So how to stay calm is [...]