Parenting Concerns

What’s the Effect of Violent or Graphic Television?

Before we get into the details of this post, I gotta come clean.

I love TV.

I love movies, and TV, and all sorts of visual media.  It is universally accepted that the writing on the screen has gotten better, more nuanced, more sophisticated, and more engrossing.

Grounding Your Teen For a Month for Missing Curfew

Chloe just got her driver’s license.  With this, her father tells her, comes great responsibility.  She will be expected to run errands. She will be expected to take her little brother to karate class.

What Is Resilience?

Although resilience is not a new subject, it has recently enjoyed renewed attention as clinicians work to understand how children and adolescents remain whole in the face of difficult times.

What Is The Developing Brain?

There’s been a lot in the news about the “developing brain.”

It might seem silly that we get all excited about the fact that the brain develops.  Of course it develops, you might argue.  Kids grow up.  They learn things.  They get more coordinated, more sly, more…well…grown.

Can My Teen Be My Confidant?

It’s awfully hard to figure out if your teenager is grown up.  That’s largely because it’s awfully hard for your teen to decide.

Why Does Play Matter?

Let’s talk about rats with toys, and rats without.

In fact, let’s put rats on hold for a moment. Let’s talk first about children’s museums; that’ll take us to rats and their toys, and move us nicely to the welfare of the brains of our children.

When Parents Have an Argument

My parents argued with each other.

Most parents do.

In fact, we worry more about the parents who never argue. If parents don’t argue, we worry that they’ve lost some of the passion to discuss (albeit vociferously!) the difficulties in raising a family.

When Is Getting a Firm Diagnosis Important?

Stephen’s parents were worried.  Stephen was an active 7-year-old who was having trouble learning to read, and staying seated in class.  Now that he was in second grade, he was having trouble completing homework.

What Is Child Development?

When Suzie was four years old, she was so excited.

The families in her neighborhood had all chosen the same crisp Sunday to rake all of the fallen autumn leaves.

What If My Child Won’t Part With His Special Toy?

There was a common conversation that often happened when I was in college.

“What,” we would ask each other, “was the name of the blanket you carried around when you were a kid?”

“Blanky.”

“Big Red.”

“Actually, I didn’t have a blanket.  I had a stuffed elephant named Gilbert.