We’ve written a lot on parenting & raising children.
We’re passionate about parent and child mental health, and helping to develop strong, reliable family relationships. Whether you’re looking for support with your own mental health as you come into your role as a parent, need help figuring out how to help your child develop habits that will benefit them, don’t know where to begin when it comes to communicating with your child, or are just looking for some answers to some parenting FAQ’s–we’re got you covered.
Parenting & mental health:
Co-parenting Successfully in a Pandemic:
Parenting isn’t always easy. Kids are complicated, and they don’t come with a manual. No matter how well prepared anyone is for parenting, there will be situations where they’re out of their depth. That’s especially true with the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way we do virtually everything. Parenting is different in the face of the pandemic. If this has led to tension between you and your co parent, you’re not alone. Successful co parenting is something that takes work, and it naturally becomes more difficult when life becomes more difficult. However, it is possible to co-parent successfully and the key is communication.
4 Tips for Parenting with Anxiety
Some parents experience so much fear and worry about their kids that it interferes with their day to day lives, including their ability to parent effectively. How can you tell when what you’re feeling is normal parental concern or something more serious, like an anxiety disorder?
Finding Holiday Magic When You’re a Burned out Parent
Everything can feel high pressure when you’re trying to give your little ones good holiday memories and build traditions with them, but all of that pressure–on top of everything you’re already balancing as a parent–is more likely to burn you out as it is to actually make the holiday season feel special. Remember, what your child wants most is to spend meaningful time with you! There is a lot of emphasis on the consumer aspect of the season, but stepping back and simplifying can help you regain some of that feeling of holiday magic, and truly pass it along to your kids.
Bookmark this link for the holiday season.
Helping kids develop habits:
6 Ways to Encourage Outdoor Play for Your Children
Outdoor play is a great way to encourage your children to explore their imaginations and to benefit from being outside. However, not all kids are fans of being outdoors, so finding ways to encourage outdoor play can be tricky. It can be hard to imagine finding time to do another activity when your family is already busy, and lots of times children want to play inside anyway if that’s what they’re used to.
Helping Kids Develop Healthy Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene is the habits, behaviors and environment that make up your sleep routine. The time you go to bed, how you get ready for bed, what you do when you’re in bed, how hot or cold or noisy your room is, these are all components of sleep hygiene.
Helping your child develop healthy sleep hygiene habits will help them not only get better sleep right now, but teach them how to maintain that quality sleep throughout their lives by adjusting their routine to match their needs.
Learn more about how to help your child develop healthy sleep hygiene here.
3 Ways to Help Your Teen Manage their School Stress
According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of teens surveyed see anxiety as a major problem in their lives. A further twenty six percent see it as a minor problem, and only four percent of teens surveyed reported anxiety being not a problem at all. That’s a huge number of teens struggling with anxiety!
4 Ways to Help Your Child Develop Non-Screen Hobbies
Because it’s so easy to be entertained on screens now, we don’t give much thought to how non-screen play can help not only keep your child entertained, but aid in their development! Just like us, kids aren’t built to be staring at a screen 24/7. And just like our minds, their minds need to be engaged in other creative ways. Afterall, playtime isn’t just about entertainment.
Parenting communication skills:
Sex Education for Every Age
When is the right time to start sex education with your child?
Probably earlier than you think. For example: did you know that sex education should actually start as young as age two?
Read about what’s appropriate for every stage of your child’s growth here.
How to Defuse a Power Struggle With Your Child
A power struggle is what happens when two people have different opinions and refuse to back down. When it happens with a child, it can turn into a battle of the wills between the parent and child to see who will back down first. The longer you entertain the power struggle, the harder it will be to get your child to comply.
Read about how to diffuse power struggles with your child here.
Talking to Children about Suicide
Telling a child that they’ve lost someone they care about is never, ever an easy task. It gets even more complicated and difficult when that loss is due to suicide.
How do you begin to explain that to your child? Especially in a society where talking about suicide is still considered somewhat taboo?
Read our advice on how to handle the difficult subject matter here.
How to Talk to Your Child About Sex
We all want our children to be well adjusted and prepared for adulthood. However, when we avoid the topic of sex until they’re older, we do our kids a disservice. Sex-positivity is the belief that sex is nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s possible to raise your children in a sex-positive household that takes into consideration their developmental needs and their curious brains. But how do you go about doing that?
Read our tips on how to have appropriate, sex positive conversations with your child here.
Parenting FAQ’s:
Why should I Give My Child Time for Boredom?
When every moment of their day is structured and planned, kids may be productive and engaged, but they aren’t being given a chance to get creative on their own. Their imaginations, problem solving skills, and ingenuity, essentially, are being stifled. They are not given the space they need to grow into and hone these skills, which will actually benefit them greatly down the road.
Read more about how boredom can be beneficial to children here.
Is My Kid Just Acting Out or Is Something More Happening?
Sometimes these behavioral outbursts are just that–outbursts. Moments where their frustration or upset has gotten the better of them and they lashed out. This doesn’t make them a bad child, or a “problem” child. While it certainly isn’t pleasant to deal with these breakdowns, they are things we can help our kids learn to cope with. We can teach them to slow down and think about consequences, and give them things to do to help them express their feelings in a healthier way.
But sometimes these outbursts are a sign of something bigger than momentary frustration.
Can Children Have OCD?
While the way obsessive compulsive disorder presents in children isn’t totally separate from the way it presents in adults, there are some unique ways it shows up in children to be aware of. Especially since, unlike adults, children may not be able to recognize when a thought is irrational or obsessive.
So what are some signs of OCD in children?
Why Do Kids Throw Tantrums?
Tantrums are extremely common in kids from toddler age (18-24 months) to kids around three years old, because at that age our children don’t yet have the language skills to communicate with us. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot happening in their minds–just that there’s a language barrier between us and them. So when they need something (sleep, food, diaper, etc.), they don’t have any other way to tell us!
Read more about tantrums, what causes them and how to handle them here.
If you’re looking for someone to provide tools and support for you as you navigate parenthood, our clinicians can help! Get in touch today.