When Should Parents Get Involved With School?
0Being a parent is a constant tight rope balance between support and enabling. The goal is to eventually launch children into the world as productive and independent as they possibly can be – with all of the help and scaffolding they might need along the way. It can be challenging along the way to know […]
Raising Girls
In our last post, we discussed the differences that male identified children have as compared to female identified children. We reviewed some of the structural brain changes, as well as some of the societal and cultural norms and expectations that male children cope with, and the need for emotional support and understanding for male children. […]
Parenting In The Era of Screen Time
You may have heard some of the alarming news related to research that links screen time and media usage with anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. This analysis was done as a part of a larger, longitudinal study that will follow more than 11,000 children as they grow up around screens – an unparalleled […]
How To React When Someone Comes Out
Coming out – the process of revealing your sexual or gender identity to others around you – can be terrifying. Yet in an effort to live authentically, congruently, and freely, it is necessary to divulge certain very personal pieces of information with loved ones. We unfortunately live in a “heteronormative” society, which means that others […]
Talking To Teenagers
Parents often feel that they’ve entered a new planet, or at least a foreign country, when their sweet innocent children become teenagers. Adolescence is a developmental period where identity, responsibility, maturity, and hormones can bring about changes, heightened emotions, and a whole new set of tools for parents to master. Teenagers get a bad reputation, […]
Belonging: The Barriers, and the Benefits
To know that we are not alone, that we are indeed a part of something larger, is a psychological need that occurs as early as childhood. Studies have shown that to be a part of a group or to have social connections are as critical to human survival as food, water, and shelter. In fact, […]
Teaching Consent to Children
As it often occurs, national events and headlines make their way to your living rooms and kitchen tables, and into our therapy offices, as well. Lately, questions about consent, boundaries, and healthy sexual expression have been occurring, as well as a question of “When should these topics be taught?” Theoretically, it should be easy. A […]
Support for Gender Non-Conforming, Trans, and Non-Binary Individuals
Few topics generate such passion, and it can be hard to speak about the experience of gender non-conforming individuals without generating strong opinions from all sides of the political and moral spectrum. Yet despite all of the strong emotions, for the person who is experiencing gender dysphoria or confusion about their gender, they just want […]
Back To School Series: Big Moves
As children travel through their school years, they go from toddlers, to kids, to tweens, to teens, to adults! It happens quickly, and parents scramble to keep up with the growth, the changes, and transitions. Raising children is an experience of both eternity and a blink of an eye, and the changes are most evident […]
Boundaries: How and When To Draw The Line
Boundaries. The invisible lines between people that cannot be seen, but, can absolutely, be felt. If you’ve ever had your dinner interrupted by a telemarketer, you know what it feels like when someone crosses the line into your personal space. But, not everyone is as easy to dismiss as a telemarketer. So, we are here […]