Self-Care and Self-Compassion Improves Parenting

Self-compassion is an important part of parenting children and adolescents.  A few years ago, the Washington Post published an article called “Teaching Children Self-Compassion by Modeling it Ourselves” by Mandy Lange.  The article addresses the idea that children learn how to respond to their difficulties, stressors, and mistakes through their own experiences, and through what […]

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Graduation

The Summer Before College: 7 Tips for Parents and Teens

The summer before college represents a huge transition between high school graduation and leaving for school in the fall. Families are proud, excited, worried, and quite busy. There is much to do and prepare for, especially if that teen is headed to college in the fall. The summer after graduation is an exciting and overwhelming […]

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4 Things to Improve How You Communicate with People

Communication is difficult, and often very complex. Everyone has a slightly different style; some people are highly animated, while others are quiet and reserved. Some people tend to be very direct and clear about what they mean, and others use more subtle clues in their communication to get their meaning across. As we all try […]

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Why Kindness Is Good for You!

Kindness is an important concept to understand. We are programmed to be kind to one another, even though sometimes it seems that the world has lost this instinct. You can train yourself to be kinder, and as a result, you may also be happier, healthier, and find more meaning in your life. Kindness makes us […]

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Angry Cat

What to Do When You’re Really Angry

Getting angry is a part of life. None of us will live a life free of stressors, and sometimes, whether we want it to or not, anger bubbles up as we try to deal with our stress. Anger is natural, but the behaviors that come out of anger can be scary, hurtful, and harmful. Below […]

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And

The Power of “AND”

“And” is a word that we don’t often think about.  It is quite powerful Let’s start by looking at the following examples “I really liked your presentation, but I think you could make a few improvements” What do you take away from that statement? Do you think you would walk away thinking “boy, that person […]

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sorry

Stop Saying “Sorry” So Much

The other day, someone bumped me with their cart on the way by, while I was quietly searching for a nice soup for lunch. And I turned around and said, “Oh, sorry!” A friend was talking to me about the loss of her pet, and when her tears came (which, of course they would) she […]

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