Parenting Concerns

Home Is Where The Heart Is: Thinking About Homeless Children In The Classroom

This is the final blog post of a series in collaboration with the Lesley University Child Homelessness Initiative (CHI). For more information about the CHI curriculum, and the ways in which it seeks to empower the next generation of teachers and caregivers to understand and advocate for homeless children, visit http://www.lesley.

My Child Is Deliberately Cutting. What Do I Do?

Learning that your child has been engaging in self-harm can be really scary and alarming as a parent or guardian. We answer a parent’s question, below.

Hear a detailed conversation about underlying causes and how to respond to self-harm in a child below, or find “Shrinking It Down” wherever you stream.

Effects of Economic Hardship on Families

According to virtually every economic indicator, the United States has slogged its way out of a nasty economic recession. Jobs are more plentiful, wages are up, and people are, overall, doing better.

But, this apparent good news can seem hollow to many people.

Lord Of The Flies In The Classroom: The Complicated World of Discipline And Limits

There is a fairly disturbing video circulating the Internet this week: a substitute teacher appears terrified as students verbally, and even physically, threaten her. One boy goes so far as to raise a chair in the air, as if preparing to strike her.

Discovering Who I Am: The Critical Role Of Identity

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation.

Treating Specific Phobias in Kids

It was the last semester of medical school, and Philadelphia couldn’t have been nicer—even West Philly.

My wife and daughter, then almost five years old, were walking around town, and at one point let our daughter run ahead over a concrete bridge.

Rules For Dating In A Non-Dating World

Before I actually had a daughter, I imagined that I’d be pretty cool with the whole dating thing.  You know, a tiny bit formal perhaps—ask the young man (or the young lady) a few probing but non-threatening questions; remind both my daughter and her date about the curfew; and, refrain from kissing my daughter goodbye.

Pros and Cons of a Private Clinic Versus Public School Evaluation

Christopher had a tough third grade year.  He struggled to pay attention, had difficulty reading his assignments, and was never able to finish his homework on time.

Doing What We Ought To Be Doing Already: An Approach To World Suicide Prevention Day

September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day.

That seems straightforward enough.

Suicide is awful, more common than you’d think, and in many cases, highly preventable.

Perhaps most important, in virtually every culture and every ethnic group on the planet, suicide is highly stigmatized.

How Do I Talk To My Kids About Caitlyn Jenner?

“How do I talk to my kids about Caitlyn Jenner?”

I suppose this question is inevitable now. That’s not a bad thing, but it is a deceptively tricky inquiry.