Research-based ideas for parents to connect and support your kids' development
Emoting is the body's natural way to process and release our life experiences. Learn to ride the wave with your child.
Children have an instinctive and effective way to offload the things that upset them: emoting. Learn to hold space for this natural healing process.
Emoting is the body's natural way to process and release our life experiences. Learn to ride the wave with your child.
The world often feels serious and busy for adults, but making time to play with your child is one of the best parenting moves you can make.
The world often feels serious and busy for adults, but making time to play with your child is one of the best parenting moves you can make.
The world is getting much more complex for adolescents, but continuing to find opportunities for play with your teen is one of the best parenting moves you can make.
In adolescence, your child's fears begin to shift. Social concerns, peer pressure, and academic and extracurricular performance all rise in priority. Help your child express, manage, and overcome their fears, so that they don't go underground.
Childhood can be a particularly fearful time. Help your child express, manage, and overcome their fears, so that they don't go underground.
Childhood can be a particularly fearful time. Help your child express, manage, and overcome their fears.
As parents, we know how very very much you love your child. But… do they? Feeling deeply lovable is one of the core pillars of a happy and healthy self, but sometimes kids don't get that message.
Children tend to be more optimistic than adults, but childhood depression has been rising rapidly. Children look to their parents and caregivers for cues, and over time absorb your attitudes, so it is important to model and support a hopeful outlook.
Waiting can be painful for kiddos during the holiday season (the presents! the sweets!) but it is a valuable skill year round. Learning to wait and work for the future leads to better outcomes, and, as it turns out, optimal enjoyment.
Positive body image is important for children's self-esteem and confidence, but these can be fraught issues in our culture. It is never too early to encourage a positive body image, and gratitude is a powerful tool.
Perfectionism is rising among young people, which is bad news for mental health. One of the most helpful gifts you can give your child is the room to be themselves, warts and all.
In parenting, it takes a village. Abandon the idea of independence, and embrace a model of interdependence – as it turns out, this is better for our kids anyway.
Stress occurs in all sorts of ways throughout our lives. Helping you child learn to successfully navigate stress is key to feeling good and accomplishing what they want in the world.
Being authentic – acting in accordance with your own thoughts, emotions, and values – has many proven benefits for well-being. How do we support our kids in knowing and showing their authenticity?
Our culture puts most of the focus on do-ing, but be-ing with our kids is essential for their, and our, mental health.
Autonomy – the desire to make decisions for oneself – is one of the fundamental human motivations. Do you allow your child enough?
As parents we naturally worry about our kids and want to fix problems we see. But focusing on their strengths can be more productive.
Stress occurs in all sorts of ways throughout our lives, and helping you child learn to successfully navigate stress is key to feeling good and accomplishing what they want in the world.
The first step in connecting with another person is non-verbal. Learn to slow down attune physically and emotionally, to calm heart rate, breathing, and more.
The bitter feelings that arise from failure and disappointment are some of the most difficult for our children – and all people – to deal with. Help them meet these experiences with a growth mindset.
Receiving love and affirmation from the outside feels wonderful and is necessary. But it is ultimately even more powerful to develop a loving internal narrative.
Limits may seem like a drag, but they are essential to creating safety for your child. Here are some ways to set limits with kindness, calm, and humor.
While consumerism often takes center stage at this time, it diminishes joy for children. Focus instead on savoring and connection.
Gratitude makes people healthier, happier, more resilient, and have better relationships. Yet studies show that kids don't come by gratitude naturally. What to do?
Adolescents often weigh present rewards more than working hard for future rewards. How can we strengthen their resolve to take on difficult topics and tasks, such as working hard in school?
In addition to school subjects, your child is also learning about themselves as a learner. Help them develop academic confidence and a growth mindset.
As parents, it's our job to keep our kiddos safe. But in fact, kids these days are often over-protected from risk… and too little risk has some serious downsides.
As peer relationships become more important to kids, the bad feelings around "missing out" or perceived slights can get more intense. Help your child value their own experience more, and envy others' experiences less.
Boredom is an uncomfortable feeling that never-the-less has some real value. Instead of rushing to fill boredom, help your child tolerate it and develop their own creativity.
Cultivating joy as a family is important – it is a glue of good feeling and shared memories that keeps your goodwill strong.
Being authentic – acting in accordance with your own thoughts, emotions, and values – has many proven benefits for well-being. How do we support our kids in knowing and showing their authenticity?
Our culture puts most of the focus on do-ing, but be-ing with our kids is essential for their, and our, mental health.
Our bodies react to stress and trauma on a preverbal level, influencing heart rate, tensions, digestion, and more. This post is about how to counteract the stress with deep attunement with your child.
Setting goals is a natural way that humans seek to survive and thrive. Setting and achieving goals helps your child feel competent and effective! Help them learn formulate good goals, and plan to achieve them.
