May 2013
2 posts
Family Bonding Over Food
One of my fondest memories growing up was family dinners. Every night we sat down and ate dinner together – all six of us. No matter if any of us had the best or worst day at school or work, we would stop to share food together. It wasn’t simply eating dinner together that was remarkable, it was what my parents did with this opportunity of having us all together. They created a positive and...
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Is “Good Enough” the New (and Old) Perfect?
For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of being a mommy. My favorite photograph is of a pig-tailed 7-year-old “me”, pushing around my toy carriage. I had 8 or 9 dolls in tow, and my little pink night gown was stuffed with pillows, indicating more little dollies on the way. “Oh, yes,” I exclaimed confidently, “one day I am going to have 100 children!” Although this magic number (thankfully!)...
April 2013
1 post
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When All Their Stuff Drives You Nuts
When my grandmother was nine years old, her parents sent her off alone to America. She went with a bundle of belongings and a Russian-English dictionary, across the ocean to live with a married, older sister in New York City. The family had scrimped and saved to make this possible, knowing all the while that they might never see their beloved daughter again. She had worked hard to prepare,...
March 2013
1 post
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Choosing to Create Healthy Relationships
The end of the year is often a natural period of reflection where we take inventory of our lives over the past 12 months. For some of us, our thoughts naturally gravitate toward the moments of individual and familial triumph and success in the last year. The moments when we met our goal of having a date night with our spouse once a month, shared a quality conversation with our adolescent, or...
February 2013
1 post
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Taming the Parental Dragon: Getting Underneath...
We love our children dearly, and they also make us furious. We may find ourselves angrier at the things our children do, whether they are two or seventeen, than we can remember feeling towards anyone else. And yet we know that forcefully expressing this anger rarely helps a situation. Feelings escalate, until everyone becomes more upset. Not much learning takes place… Read More
October 2012
2 posts
“Quality Therapy for You, Your Child, and Your Family”
– Jonah Green and Associates
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Therapy for Relationships: More than Managing...
Couples and family members who enter therapy to improve their relationships have usually endured long periods of harsh conflict. Couples might be caught in repetitive cycles of criticism and defensiveness; parents and teens might be trapped in power struggles; siblings may find themselves in escalating rivalries. Anguished to stop destructive arguments, people usually begin therapy focused on...
August 2012
2 posts
4 tags
The Power of Giving Choices
The “dog days” of summer have arrived. The sun is blazing, the mosquitos are biting, and the kids are, well, barking (at least in my house!). Summertime certainly brings its share of joy and laughter, but after 3 months of relaxed schedules, unpredictable routines, and normal “jitters” about the start of a new school year, many children (and parents!) have become...
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Taking a Break for Self-Care
Summer Break: Is there even such a thing anymore? When asking friends, colleagues, and clients, “How’s your summer been so far?” the resounding reply has been “BUSY!” With summer vacation winding down and the school year rapidly approaching, allow time for yourself and for your family to relax and recharge. Here are some helpful strategies for incorporating a little relaxation into the remainder...
June 2012
2 posts
3 tags
Transformational Dialogue: Guiding your Teen...
In a previous post, I talked about adolescence as a time of transition for the entire family, especially the relationship between teens and their parents, and the important role that parenting has on later development. As a child moves into early adolescence (around 13-14 years), established routines between parent and child will shift and reorganize to accommodate the emerging identities for...
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Strategies for Successful Family Vacations
Surrounded by piles of laundry and bags to still unpack, my exhausted husband turned to me after our first travel experience as new parents and said, “That was NOT a vacation, it was a trip!” With a growing family and these reduced expectations we slogged through the next few years of family travel. But I really did want to take avacation … as a family…with our children. To go somewhere new...
May 2012
1 post
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Parents and Dating: Talking to your Children about...
Parental dating is a difficult topic for families after a divorce or death of a loved one. It takes time for both the parent and child to cope with the feelings associated with these transitions, and there often comes a time when a parent wants to start dating again. It is important to consider how new relationships will affect your child and what you can do to make it easier for...
April 2012
1 post
2 tags
ADHD and Divorce
Life with a family member with ADHD can be stressful; wonderful in some ways, but stressful in others. People with ADHD often have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm for life. However they also lose things, forget things and are impulsive and distractible. This combination of difficulties can lead to being late for events or forgetting to pick up a child at school… » Read More
March 2012
1 post
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Communication Tips for Successful Transitioning
As graduation season approaches, many young adults feel excited to enter a new phase of life. For transitioning youth with disabilities and their families, this excitement is often coupled with trepidation and uncertainty. Many students have become accustomed to secure, structured school environments… » Read More
February 2012
1 post
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Child Safety: Beyond “Stranger Danger”
Every parent’s number one responsibility is to keep their child safe. Since pictures of missing children began to first appear on milk containers in the 1980’s, parents .have responded by teaching their children about “stranger danger.” Many children are instructed from a very early age not to talk to strangers… » Read more
