Depression is serious business, particularly in children and adolescents. Depression impacts about of 20 percent of teens prior to adulthood, and research supports that these numbers are increasing. Sadly, when depression rates increase, so do rates of suicide, self-injury, and substance abuse. Many times, as parents, we struggle with how to help and what to […]
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Perfectionism, or the tendency to want to do everything flawlessly, is often associated with increased stress and anxiety. Perfectionism combines excessively high personal standards (“I have to do my best at everything”), as well as feelings of failure if the person falls short of those benchmarks. Oftentimes, our need to be perfect stems from fear. […]
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“Just like our fingerprints, people are all different. It’s no surprise that we learn differently too.” The above explanation is one that I often provide to young people when they are diagnosed as having learning disabilities. I also explain to them that most of the time, our schools teach the most common, and sometimes the […]
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Children today are often online, using phones, computers and electronic devices. So are their parents. Like it or not, electronics are a part of our children’s lives. Most of the time, children’s use of electronics is harmless, and can even be fun or enjoyable. Parents often believe that supervision is key to their child’s experience […]
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Teens today face many life challenges. One of these is drug abuse, particularly prescription drug abuse. Many times, as parents or caregivers, we are under the illusion that these issues will not impact our own children or people that we know. However, data suggests that prescription drug use is quite common among teens, with some […]
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This blog-post is addressing a serious and potentially controversial topic: spanking. It’s a tough thing to talk about, so thank you for being brave and reading this article. New research regarding spanking has been in the news recently, with two ground-breaking studies in the last month. As a result, as a Clinical Child and Adolescent […]
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In my work with adolescents, marijuana issues are occasionally discussed. Sometimes, the teen has been using. However, often she or he reports that other friends and classmates are regular users. Frequently, I am told that it is easier for teens to buy marijuana than alcohol or cigarettes. Marijuana is a common drug that is used […]
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Ideally, preparation for the beginning of the school year should start a few weeks before that moment. A lot of things help a child prepare for that time, and as parents know, it’s not just about the school shopping.
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Being a kid with social anxiety isn’t easy. As adults, many of us still have difficulty sitting down at a table and introducing ourselves to a group of strangers. In fact, many of us can say that if given the choice, we would likely choose not to be in that situation. Remember that your child […]
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Parenting is hard. Children are joyful, energetic, and loving; they are also often challenging, frustrating, and overwhelming. Many of us think of time-outs as a way to help our children understand when they are acting in ways that are unhelpful, harmful, hurtful, or dangerous. When this is the case, we often recognize that our children […]
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Parent Burnout Is Real, Yet Treatable Parent burnout is real. It often starts small, and can lead to impairment in a parent’s ability to complete their responsibilities towards their children. It can make it difficult to balance work, social, and family aspects of your life. Unfortunately, if a parent feels distress, the children will too. […]
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Many parents are uncertain of how to keep their children safe on-line. Although most of us use computers in our day to day jobs, we grew up at a time in history where friendship and learning primarily occurred face to face, and not through a screen or electronic device. Children today use electronics to learn, […]
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