When was the last time you got or gave a big bear hug, and you were really present for it?  Hugs make us feel good.  When someone hugs us, it’s comforting, and we give hugs to help comfort others.  We usually don’t give much thought to it, but there is so much research on the impact of hugs on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.  Hugs are very powerful from a parenting...

Do you have an effective strategy for managing behavior challenges with your kids? Many, if not most, parents don’t. So when these challenges arise, parents become paralyzed because they don’t know what to do or they feel out of control and frustrated—and neither leads to effective parenting.

One of the most common things I hear when working with parents is, “I don’t know.” ...

Do you have behavior challenges with your kids? Many parents tend to think that their child’s behavior is random, and they never know what will set them off. However, when we take a step back and view it through a different lens, we almost always find some consistency in their behavior.

That’s why one of the first things I do when working with parents is to start by taking a big-picture overview of their...

As we kick off a new year, have you taken any time to review the previous year, what you’ve accomplished, and what has changed for you and your family?

The new year is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love to review where we were a year ago and how much has changed, and I love to ponder and get intentional about planning for what I want in the upcoming year.  

I invite you to join me...

Do you get nervous about how your kids will act at the family holiday gathering?  For neurodiverse kids and kids who struggle with impulse control, family gatherings and all of the extra stimulation can be tough, and parents can feel like they’re on display.  One mom told me she was sick of being the “show.”

In last week's article, I shared how setting expectations accordingly will help you...

It’s the time of the year when there are many family gatherings and opportunities for your relatives to observe you parenting your children.  As parents, we always want to be proud of our kids, so we often expect our children to behave a certain way at family gatherings.

Unfortunately, family gatherings also typically mean that our kids get overstimulated and jacked up on sugar, so they don’t behave or...

As the holiday season is upon us, what are you grateful for, and what brings you the most joy?  I know that when I stop and take stock, I’m usually most grateful for those small moments of connection with my loved ones — the moments talking before bed or the random hug in the middle of the day that bring me the most joy.  The question is how present are you for these moments?

Are you able to enjoy...

Given that we’re in the season of gratitude, we tend to talk and think more about what we are grateful for — and given that gratitude is associated with increased levels of happiness, it’s no wonder that this can be more of a “feel-good” time of year.   

One of the reasons this “feel-good” time of year happens and why we feel better is because we change our brain...

How do you typically respond when life gets rough for your child?  Do you think things should be easy and work out for your child, and get worked up and upset when they don’t?  How do you respond when things aren’t going smoothly for your child, and they struggle or fail?  

We teach our kids what to do when things don’t go as they had hoped or expected by how we respond to the...

As parents, we all want to raise our kids to be kind, but what does that really mean, and how do we do that in a divided world? I’m bringing this up and hoping to raise awareness around this issue because I’m seeing parents posting about other kids being unkind and downright mean. They’re not alone; my own child has experienced this recently, too.  

The most recent post I saw was from a mom...

Does your child have anger issues?  I recently had a couple of parents reach out because their children were having anger issues at home and school.  The children were hitting and biting other kids, teachers, and parents, and they were saying really mean and hurtful things. The parents were at a loss and didn’t know what to do.

As a parent, it can be both scary and embarrassing when your young child...

Does your child have anger issues?  I recently had a couple of parents reach out because their children were having anger issues at home and school.  The children were hitting and biting other kids, teachers, and parents, and they were saying really mean and hurtful things. The parents were at a loss and didn’t know what to do.

As a parent, it can be both scary and embarrassing when your young child...