Jess Row writes about being parent to a teen in the digital age, and questions of a young person’s right to a private life.
We all see anxiety differently. We bring our own baggage, or own history and our own issues along for the ride. Often moms and dads see anxiety differently. Sometimes it can be the source of disagreements and hurt feelings. And sometimes it can open our eyes to a new way of looking at things. How often do we view child anxiety from a father’s perspective?
In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids, teens and young adults about how to find their power and take back the things they love.
Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child's Fears, Worries, and Phobias By Tamar Chansky Ph.D.
In this week’s YouTube video for kids and teens I talk about some approaches to handle and reduce anticipatory anxiety.
Helping Anxious Kids Who Hate Losing The board game goes flying, the game control gets thrown or the ball gets kicked out of the yard. That’s how many anxious kids cope with losing, it’s just simply too much to handle. It’s not surprising that some anxious kids hate losing. Anxious kids can hold themselves to
Motivating Kids by Asking, “What is Anxiety or OCD Ruining for You?” It can be hard to motivate kids to work on anxiety or OCD. It can be a hard sell to tell them that the more they do hard things, the easier it will become. Anxiety or OCD can be demanding and convincing. So
In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids and teens about how therapists use imaginal scripts to build their OCD muscles to handle discomfort.
In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I’ll explore these common struggles and talk about concrete ways to bridge the gap so you are more of a united front.
Awesome. You are all set to receive some great tips, inspiring stories and maybe a few giggles along the way. I am excited to have you on this parenting journey. Buckle up - it can be a bumpy, but fun ride! If you haven't done so already - join me over on my Facebook page for
How humor develops in children and great tips on how to help your child develop a healthy sense of humor and build resiliency.
Printable self-esteem worksheets for kids teens & adults on building self-worth.
Although they may not show it, boys need to hear positive words from us. Here are 5 Powerful Phrases Every Boy Wants to Hear.
In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, we’ll explore how to handle hard parenting moments and what they might be revealing if we look deep.
In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids and teens about ways to build their ability to handle discomfort beyond anxiety or OCD.
Graphic Novel for Teens with OCD | Interview with Jason Adam Katzenstein Jason Adam Katzenstein gets it. He gets the struggle of what it feels like to have OCD and he gets the fear that comes along with trying to crush it. Luckily for the OCD community, Jason is a popular and gifted cartoonist
In this week’s podcast, I discuss how anticipatory anxiety can show up as well as approaches you can use to reduce its impact on your child’s mental health.
I am not sure when we, collectively as a society, decided that parents aren’t allowed to have ugly feelings.
We many think my sweet, anxious child will never do drugs. In fact, how could she? She’s afraid of her own shadow! I am right there with you. But our young, anxious kids often turn into depressed, overwhelmed teens. The last thing we want is for them to self medicate. That’s why talking about drugs when they are young is so important.
Inside: Discover the secret to managing child behavior problems in a gentle way and help your child behave better. One of the things that brought the most challenges for me as a mom was dealing
Childhood OCD: The Invisible Disorder
Have an anxious child? Fill your coping skills toolbag with 37 techniques described in detail here.
Having a child with anxiety or OCD can be a challenge, but when it impacts eating, it can become a major health issue. Many kids with anxiety or OCD struggle to eat for many different reasons. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore common core fears that drive restrictive eating and what you can do if your child has ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) or is working their way towards it.
I didn’t know the level of my anxiety until I brought little people into my world. It seemed like my anxiety just couldn’t hide under the weight of parental stress. That happens to many of us. We strive to become a better parent and we begin to realize that it is actually our own anxiety that is holding us back.
No one thinks they are going to be raising anxious kids. We all have our vision of what parenting will be. It usually does not involve a child with panic, fear and dread.
Learn the many disguises of OCD, including Moral OCD. Moral OCD can make a child worry they might be a bad person or turn into a bad person.
What’s holding your child back from working on OCD? The answer can be different for each person. Perhaps talking about it feels too scary or embarrassing. Maybe not listening to OCD seems too hard or too risky. For some, it might seem like too much work with not enough payoff. Whatever it might be for your child it is helpful to address those barriers head-on.
My daughter stands over the balcony. “I’m scared. I can’t sleep.” I look up at her little body. “Brave face!” I encourage. She sighs and then strikes her brave face power pose. Her head held up high, her arms on both hips, her lips pursed and eyes ready for battle. “Good!” I say. “Now what do you need to tell yourself?” She holds her pose and says the words I was hoping she would say, “I am safe in this house! We are all safe in this house!” And with that she is off to go try again.
Do you have a child who always has to be perfect? Do they stress over being the top of their class, getting the most goals and making everything absolutely flawless. Sometimes when a child strives for perfection, they become even less successful. So, how do you help a child with perfectionism?
In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore how natural exposures can help and how to get them started.
Bad things happen. What are we to do as parents? I sometimes wish I could take my children and live in a bubble – immune to the violence, hatred and tragedies our world experiences. But, bad things happen. Although living in a bubble is tempting, we would also miss out on the wonderful sounds,
There is one thing I consistently hear about in my therapy practice. Homeschooling. Not in a warm fuzzy way. But in a desperate, this needs to happen sort of way. It is very common for many kids to demand to be homeschooled due to anxiety.
Sometimes anxiety or OCD is just too overwhelming. Sometimes fighting anxiety or OCD can seem like too much for kids (or for anyone for that matter!).
How to Parent So Children Will Listen? Getting kids to listen can be an uphill battle. How often do you find yourself screaming at deaf children? As a child therapist, I get a glimpse into the mind of those parent-deaf children. Parents ask me, "How do I parent so my children will listen?" Their children
Explore an extensive list of 45 engaging and calming mindfulness activities perfect for babies and toddlers.
Your kids WANTS to sleep — but sometimes they just can't. Here's how to deal with child sleep anxiety and help kids fall asleep and stay asleep.
Facebook Pinterest Twitter Making money from home is becoming more and more popular amongst moms who dream of staying at home with their children while also helping to bring in the bacon. One really great way that many moms are making money from home is through starting a mom blog. And although writing a mom […]
In this week’s YouTube video, I’ll talk about some common OCD mental compulsions that are often missed and what to do about it!
Do you ever wonder why your child keeps doing the same things no matter how much discipline you throw at him? Do you struggle with getting your partner to see that your child isn’t trying to be difficult? If these are some of your struggles you have to dive into Dr. Ross Greene’s work!
Parenting can be hard when you know all the signs and symptoms of every childhood mental health disorder. Every behavioral hiccup can be over-evaluated and scrutinized. Every developmental struggle can be cause for serious alarm. REALITY HITS My introduction to my own child’s issues came as I sat in a post-graduate class on infant and
Anxiety and sensory issues are like peanut butter and Jelly. They exist alone, but where you find one, you’ll often find the other. Unfortunately, anxiety can increase sensory issues and sensory issues can increase anxiety. This can feel like a never-ending vicious cycle. So how are you supposed to handle your child’s sensory struggles? What’s the best approach? What are the best resources? What are the best sensory toys? We spend most of our time talking about anxiety, but today it is all about the sensory processing struggles!
As a cognitive behavioral therapist I talk a great deal about how to help our kids by reframing their anxious thoughts and taking steps to do brave things. But I want to expand your child’s toolbox with other useful ways for them to calm their mind and body. The more diversified our children’s coping mechanisms, the better they will do long-term! In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I invited Kristi Fischer and Kelly Winkler to the show. They host the podcast Mindful Conversations with KAY (Kidding around Yoga).
When you have OCD you hand over all power to a glitch in your brain. You allow OCD to construct rules, beliefs and compulsions that hold you prisoner. Unfortunately the more you feed this OCD glitch, the bigger the glitch grows. The rules morph, the OCD compulsions shift, and the cycle becomes never ending. In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids, teens and young adults about how OCD slowly becomes the boss of their life and how they can push back and get relief from OCD.
“Why on earth did I think that?!” – that is at the heart of many OCD Intrusive thoughts. The fear of the thought itself. Having disturbing thoughts is….disturbing. But what is even more upsetting is that you had the thought at all.
“No!” Your child screams. Her eyes wide and her pulse racing. You have seen her like this before. Her deer caught in headlights expression. She is paralyzed with fear. You are paralyzed with confusion. Should you make her? Should you give in to her fears? You second guess your next move. What will make this better, not just for today, but forever? This anxiety battle is draining and you don’t know how much more you can take. More importantly, you don’t know how much more she can take. How are you supposed to parent anxious children?
