The End of the School Year: Making Meaningful Goodbyes

The end of the school year could be filled with many different emotions for students and parents alike. It marks the completion of another school year full of growth, successes, and overcoming obstacles. Many may have already grown attached to their routine, classmates and teachers, while others may be eager to move on happily looking forward to the future. In either case, it can be beneficial to intentionally plan on supporting your child so they can get the opportunity to experience a meaningful goodbye.

Helpful tips, AdolescenceVirgdant Breton, LSWMay 10, 2023school, listening

Walking the Tightrope of Expectations

Setting expectations for your child is meant to be helpful. But, when is it harmful? Similar to a tightrope, expectations can be tricky to navigate and acrobats (in this case, your child) often require the perfect combination of skill, training, and coaching to be able to successfully get across. So when you set expectations for your child you should consider whether or not you are setting your child up to succeed (meet the expectations) or fail (not meet the expectations).

Adolescence, Boundary Setting, FamilyVirgdant Breton, LSWApril 12, 2023teens, expectations, parenting, kids, family

Navigating Your Teen's Emotions

Do you sometimes feel like you’re walking on eggshells with your teen? Like certain things you do or say could easily set them off? If your child’s emotions are causing a disconnect and leaving you at a loss for how to respond, don’t worry! Teens are prone to emotional ups and downs; it’s part of growing up. Sometimes intense emotions will quickly pass, while other times, they’ll stick around for a while. How can you navigate your child’s emotional experience without either of you feeling as frustrated, confused, or upset? Emotion regulation skills can help! Ask yourself these questions to make the experience more manageable for you and your teen…

How to Connect with your Child

As your child gets older, do you feel like you’re drifting apart? It’s understandable to want to connect with your child. But the baby you once knew is older, wiser, and different now. They seek more independence and privacy than ever before. While it’s not easy maintaining a strong bond, it is certainly doable. Every so often, you’ll have to rethink the dynamics and your approach to the relationship. If one method isn’t working, try something new so you can continue to be a trusted source of support. Here are some tips and tricks to help you stay connected to your child…

Why It's Important to Let Your Kids Fail

It’s natural—we don’t want our kids to fail. When we see them struggling, our instincts tell us to jump in before they reach danger, whether it’s real danger or perceived. We give our children advice and intervene when we think they are making the “wrong” decisions. However, the truth is that even though seeing our kids fail is hard, it is important to let them do so. Failure will make them stronger, as difficult as it is to witness. Here are some reasons why we should consider taking a step back…

How to Communicate with Teens who Talk Back

Do you find yourself in constant conflict with your teen? It may likely start with your child talking back or acting up, and it only escalates from there. It’s not uncommon for this to happen, and it’s certainly not pleasant either. Luckily, there are ways to avoid communication breakdowns and emotional meltdowns. By being mindful, keeping your emotions in check, and implementing DBT skills, you can deal with your teen’s back talk more effectively. Here are some tips to navigate conflict with your teen without facing an emotional rollercoaster….

Challenging Perfectionism in Your Family

Does your child feel pressured by perfectionism? Do they do everything they can to get perfect grades, memorize all of their lines in the school play, or score for their team in every sports game? Whether we realize it or not, we tend to feed into our children’s desire to be perfect in a certain aspect of life or to know exactly what they are going to do when they grow up. Perfectionist tendencies can have a series impact on your child’s mental health. In extreme cases, this can lead to things such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders. How can you help your child find balance in their life while encouraging them to do their best? Here are some tips…

Is My Child at Risk for Substance Use?

Many parents wonder, “When is the right time to have a talk around substance abuse with my child?” The time to have this challenging discussion will vary for each child; there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it’s best to be proactive. Your child’s risk for exposure to substance use will increase as they reach their early teen years. And it’s not a matter of if they get exposed to substances; it’s a matter of when it happens. So once you determine the right time to talk to your child, what do you do next? What do you talk about, and how do you remain a source of support that your child can reach out to with any questions or concerns down the road? How can you most effectively navigate the conversation around substance use? Here are some tips to help you get things started…

How to Reduce Toxic Positivity

Do you find yourself telling your teen to look on the bright side? Or telling them that other people have it worse, so they should focus on the good things that they have? Without knowing it, you may be contributing to what’s known as “toxic positivity.” What is toxic positivity, and how could it have an impact on yourself and your family’s mental health? What can you do as a parent to reduce toxic positivity and encourage an open dialogue with your teen about their emotions? Let’s explore…

My Child Says They Are Gay - What Do I Do?

If your child comes to you to have a conversation about them being gay or queer, it can be tempting to think of this as just a phase—something that is a growing fad as we see more and more teenagers coming out as queer nowadays. However, most likely this isn’t a phase; this is likely the beginning of the process of your child figuring out their identity. According to a study at William’s Institute, about 9.5% of youth in America, or roughly 1,994,000 teenagers from ages 13 to 17, identify as LGBTQ+. It’s likely that your teen is going to have a friend who is part of the LGBTQ+ community or that they will identify as part of it themselves. Fortunately, the world is a more accepting place than it was just a decade ago, and this can allow LGBTQ+ youth to feel more comfortable identifying as queer. Here are some parenting tips to help you be supportive of your newly out or questioning teen….

What Can You Do If Your Child Is Being Bullied?

Bullying is an all too common problem amongst our kids—and unfortunately, it’s an issue that adults don’t find out about until later on. Only 46% of students report bullying to an adult. Some kids may feel afraid to “tell on” the bullies, and others may be ashamed that they’re the victim of this harassment. So how can we keep our kids safe and encourage a healthy conversation about bullying? How can we encourage our children to keep coming back to us to discuss difficult topics? Here are some tips to help you navigate the conversation if your child comes to you about it…

Adolescence, Family, Parenting TechniquesLauren BroadwellApril 27, 2022bullying, children, teens, parenting, support, school

How to Help Your Child After a Relapse

When a child relapses, it can be difficult for both the child and the parent. When we typically think of relapse, we tend to think of drugs and alcohol and the toll it takes on a person and their family. However, relapsing isn’t only limited to substance abuse. People can relapse with any kind of addictive behavior, such as self harm or eating disorder behavior. It is important that we have open communication with our kids about addictive behaviors, how to avoid them, and how to broach the topic of relapse if we know our child is struggling with an addiction of any kind. If your child is struggling with addiction and has relapsed, there are specific ways that you can support them and let them know you are a support they can lean on. Here are some ways to help your child after a relapse…

How to Recognize the Warning Signs of Depression

Depression in teens can often be overlooked or written off as “moodiness” by their parents. While some teens will simply experience mood swings or struggle with other problems that come with growing up, others may be dealing with something more serious like depression. If depression-like symptoms persist, it is worth giving a second look and potentially following up with a mental health professional. Everyone also knows of the usual sadness that is associated with depression, but there are other physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can occur due to depression. Here are some signs of depression that your teen may be exhibiting…

Adolescence, Depression, TeenagersLauren BroadwellMarch 23, 2022depression, emotions, teens, mental health, warning signs

Talking To Your Teen About Self-Harm

Unfortunately, self-harm is on the rise. 15% of teens and 17-35% of young adults and college-students self-harm, according to recent data. While it can be difficult to talk about, it’s important to create an open dialogue to talk about self-harm and self-injury with your teen or young adult. Having a safe space to discuss this topic, as well as mental health in general, can help you and your young adult deal with this important issue and get treatment, if needed. How do you begin this conversation? And what should the discussion about self-harm look like? Here’s everything you need to know to get the conversation started…

Rules of the Road: Parenting a New Driver

Your child is growing up. They just got back from the DMV with a glowing smile and a (most likely) unflattering photo. While you are excited for them and their newfound freedom, it’s just as fair for you to feel scared about what this freedom and responsibility means. Parenting a new driver comes with many questions: How much freedom do they have, now that they can drive themselves without your supervision? How can you make sure that they are safe? How will they handle this new responsibility? Here are some tips for navigating this new stage…

How to Keep your Cool as a Parent

Do you have trouble keeping your cool when parenting your teen? Do certain behaviors of theirs cause you to lose your temper? It’s understandably challenging to deal with teens’ emotional up and downs while keeping your own emotions in check. Therefore, taking a dialectical approach to parenting might be helpful for you. Being a dialectical parent means finding balance—specifically, balance between opposites. There is an opposite to everything in life, and we tend to be most effective when we balance those opposing ideas. By finding balance between things that seem completely opposite to you, like a draining day and a calm mind, you can manage your teen without the emotional strain. Are you ready to apply dialectics to your parenting?

Is your Teen Actually Depressed?

It’s hard to tell the difference between typical teen mood swings and depression. Your teen will feel sad or want to isolate themselves at times, or their behavior could be a sign of something more serious. Recognizing depression in your teen will allow you to get them much-needed help. It may be hard to distinguish the difference between typical teen behavior and indicators of depression. To provide clarity, ask yourself the following questions about your teen…

How DBT Skills will Help your Teen

How will you know if Dialectical Behavior Therapy is right for your teen? DBT teaches your teen skills that will help with acceptance and change. The main goals of DBT skills therapy are safety, learning useful coping skills, and creating a life worth living. In addition, DBT helps your teen become mindful about their emotions, develop healthy relationships, and find balance in their life. Consider these three reasons why DBT will help your teen…

What Went Wrong? Understanding Your Child's Reactions

Have you had trouble seeing eye to eye with your children lately? As your children get older and navigate increasingly complex emotions and situations, you may feel like you’re on totally different pages. One thing leads to the next, your emotions begin to spiral, and you’re in another full blown argument before you know it. You don’t have to be stuck in a cycle of chaos and confusion. By mapping out the chain of events and analyzing each step of the way, you can find points in which you could act differently and then change the outcome. The DBT skill Behavioral Chain Analysis walks you through the process. Behavioral Chain Analysis helps you determine what you could do differently when dealing with problematic behavior with your child. All you have to do is follow these steps…

Is Your Child "Addicted" To Screens?

Is your child glued to their screens? Research shows that kids’ and teens’ developing brains are constantly building neural connections while pruning away at neural pathways that are less commonly used. Essentially, the more your child does something, the more likely that habit will stick. Screen time can impact this process by replacing valuable offline experiences, which would otherwise allow them to stretch their emotional and mental capacity. Plus, technology may interfere with everything from your child’s sleep cycle to their ability to think creatively. Help your child find balance between online and offline time so that they can engage in essential brain development. Here are a few ways to give your child’s brain a BREAK from screen time…

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