It's mid-August... that means summer vacation is creeping to an end, depending upon your child's first day of school. For some it even starts next week. Summer time and the livin' was easy! Just thinking about the start of school can be stressful for kids. New teachers, new classrooms, new friends, new expectations, new routines. On top of that, just getting back into the swing of things--the school day routines--is not only stress producing but it can be a real challenge after the lazy, … [Read more...] about Get Ready for the New School Year!
Environmental influences
Unplugging
Mindfulness is the rage in Los Angeles. Mindful eating, mindful interactions, mindful relationships, mindful communication, mindful parenting. There is mindfulness for kids: Teaching kids to become mindful; mindfulness as an antidote to bullying; mindful learning in school; using mindfulness to enhance peer relationships, and on and on. Mindfulness through meditation is the new antidote to stress. A few weeks ago a store front meditation center, Unplug, had a front page write up in the … [Read more...] about Unplugging
It’s Just A Sip
(First published in 2010) The journey of raising a teen is fraught with challenges. Not only is his natural development tricky, but a teen’s world is filled with societal influences of all kinds, alcohol being just one. Alcohol is on everyone’s minds: Tweens and teens want to try it, and parents want to keep it away. It is a concern at every turn. And while there is much to consider when it comes to teens and alcohol, parents remain tremendously influential in the choices their kids will … [Read more...] about It’s Just A Sip
Should You Discipline Someone Else’s Child….Revised
It’s hard enough to raise your own child—teaching him the rules of the road, guiding him as he learns how to “play nicely”—but what happens when a child who is not yours is in need of some pointed guidance (a swift kick in the pants!)? You’re having a playdate, and the guest grabs a toy (your child’s favorite Thomas car) out of your child’s hands. The grabber’s mom observes without reaction. You’re at the park, and a girl you don’t know throws sand at your child. The sand thrower’s mom is … [Read more...] about Should You Discipline Someone Else’s Child….Revised
How to Talk About Homelessness
With ever increasing numbers of homeless in our cities, it is not surprising that young children are asking questions. Whether it is someone in the street asking each car for money, someone pushing a cart overflowing with possessions, or a person forlornly propped up against a building, children notice anything that is different (as do we all, frankly). They work hard to understand and make sense of the world they encounter. As they grow and mature, more of the world comes into focus and is … [Read more...] about How to Talk About Homelessness
Back-to-School Blues
“I’m a wreck!” was the reply from my client, mother of two elementary school age kids, when I asked her how things were going. Her children had started back to school the week before. And, truth be told, they were doing great. Both liked their teachers, classes, friends, and were happily back in the ritual and routine of school days. There was a good reason for that. Children just seem to do so much better within the structure naturally imposed by being in school. Their predictable lives … [Read more...] about Back-to-School Blues