Parenting is an extremely important job, yet it does not come with protocols to handle the responsibilities that come along with it. There is no mandatory training course to help prepare for a day in the life of being a parent or for the unavoidable challenges that come with parenting. Parents are simply doing their best to support their children.
Read MoreHere are some hepful tips that can help in building and maintaining connected parent-child relationships in single-parent family arrangements:
Read MoreDo you find yourself asking your kids to do something 4 or 5 times before you finally give in, give up, and do it yourself? Sometimes, it can seem like your kids don’t care about the consequences of following through on daily tasks, or that they don’t care to listen to what you have to say. Yet ignoring your requests has impacts on you and the whole family. It’s one of every parent’s greatest dilemmas: How do you get your kids to do what you want? Try using the DEARMAN skill. DEARMAN is a fantastic DBT skill that improves communication and helps you get what you want—without yelling, whining, or conflicts. It’s an acronym with tips and techniques to make requests. Let’s explore how it works with a real-life example…
Read MoreAs parents, we all have unique ideals and expectations of the experience of raising our kids. We set schedules, we create routines and we teach lessons to instill those ideals in our children as we try to meet our own. So, how do we manage when our children change, when we change, and when life changes? It’s challenging to parent your children the same way that you were months ago, before the pandemic began. Therefore, it is crucial that we adapt to changing circumstances. How can we maintain a flexible stance with our parenting and create a calmer home environment? Here are 3 ways to help you become a more effective parenting during this crisis…
Read MoreCo-parenting means working together with your partner, or even ex-partner, for the greater good of your children. Even the most well-adjusted co-parenting teams encounter obstacles from one day to the next. Now with the added stressor of COVID-19, those struggles can intensify or be different from before quarantine. You may want to re-evaluate and revise your co-parenting strategies to meet new needs. Here are some tips that might help your co-parenting right now…
Read MoreUnder normal circumstances, the usual progression of the day usually goes something like this: Wake up, eat breakfast, drop the kids off at school, go to work, kids travel home from school, get off work, cook dinner, eat, sleep, repeat. This routine means that everyone is busy, and it also makes family time precious. Now what happens when that family time became so frequent that work, school, eating, and alone time merge together? Many families may be finding this time tricky to navigate. Your home may be feeling very close now that everyone is in the same space for extended periods of time. For some, your boundaries may be blurring and your schedule may be more lax. Parents: let’s take a look at the ways you can help your entire family upgrade your family time, when family time is all you have…
Read MoreDo you have trouble keeping your cool when parenting your teen? It’s not easy dealing with teens emotional up and downs while keeping your own emotions in check. Therefore, taking a dialectical approach might be helpful for you. Being dialectical 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 approach?
Read MoreNo matter what age your children are, parenting isn’t easy. As parents, we’re so focused on getting everything done that we forget to be present. We’re going through the motions of daily experiences without actually being there. What can we do to enjoy more moments with our families? We can practice mindful parenting. When you practice mindful parenting, you can be present in the moment, pay attention without assigning a feeling, and learn to accept your thoughts and feelings without judgement. Mindfulness practice starts with the “What” and “How” skills. Let’s learn about these skills and apply them to common situations parents face…
Read MoreParenting can be tough at times. Sometimes, your child just won’t listen to you. It may be frustrating when you are unsure of what to do to get things to resonate. As therapists, we can offer a different perspective—perhaps one that will benefit your relationship with your child. We have learned many lessons about how to connect with children and improve their behavior through our line of work. Here are some insights to consider…
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