Posted on 8/17/2021
A stalwart friend recently called my attention to an online article titled “Two Things to Say to a Child Returning to In-Person School (& Two You Should Avoid).” I am choosing to provide...
Read MorePosted on 12/22/2020
A journalist asks, “What is the biggest challenge facing today’s children?” “The real world,” I said. For the last fifty years or so, good parenting has been defined...
Read MorePosted on 8/18/2020
Q: We have a five-year-old who obsesses about dying. This has been going on for six months, ever since a child in the neighborhood died of a congenital genetic condition. Our son knew the boy and...
Read MorePosted on 3/24/2020
Vital to a child’s sense of well-being are parents who act competent to provide adequate provision and protection under any and all circumstances. I often refer to that obligation...
Read MorePosted on 9/24/2019
As my regular readers know, I am a certified heretic in my field: child and family psychology. To the point, I am convinced that psychological parenting theory, which began to inform American...
Read MorePosted on 2/7/2018
A true story: When my daughter, Amy, was a pre-teen, she became anxious about going to sleep because of fears of dying in the middle of the night. When I tucked her in (I was her preferred...
Read MorePosted on 9/27/2017
Q: Over the past year, our 4-year-old has developed several fears that have become quite disruptive. It started with a fear of dogs, which is inconvenient given that there are lots of dogs in our...
Read MorePosted on 9/20/2016
Q: Over the past year or so, our 5-year-old has developed an extreme fear of going to the doctor or dentist. This came on suddenly, without a precipitating incident. The crying begins when we...
Read MorePosted on 6/28/2016
Q: My 8-year-old daughter is having anxiety issues that seem to border on obsessive-compulsive disorder. She wants me to repeat certain things back to her and has a set routine of things I must...
Read MorePosted on 4/5/2016
Q: My 6-year-old daughter watched too many episodes of a certain TV show when she was sick and now she doesn't want to go to sleep at night because she is having scary thoughts related to the...
Read MorePosted 4 days ago
My nine year old son appears to be having panic attacks in the water at swim meets. He has been swimming since he was 2 and has been competitive since he was 6. He was the only 7 year old to...
Read MorePosted on 5/21/2021
Hello, my son is 2 years and 3 months old. He has not had a full evaluation for autism yet but is showing signs and is nonverbal. He is in desperate need of a haircut but anytime we have taken him...
Read MorePosted on 3/29/2021
My 15 month old daughter will cry and cry if my husband and I wont pick her up or give her all of our attention. This isn't feasible since we have things we have to get done. How can we help her...
Read MorePosted on 3/17/2021
Hello again! My 8 year old son was diagnosed with tics at age 3. A major trigger to these tics is anxiety. Having anxiety myself it is no surprise I’ve raised an anxious kid. That coupled with the...
Read MorePosted on 2/24/2021
I am in the process of potty training a 3 year old. She is irrationally afraid of the potty, and seems to believe she will fall in even though she is using a small toddler-sized potty that she...
Read MorePosted on 2/12/2021
My 4 year old daughter is scared and I'm wondering if it's something we should be concerned about. She goes to bed fine (sleeps with the covers over her head because of her fears) but she ends up...
Read MorePosted on 2/7/2021
Our middle child who is 11, has had fears about bedtime and going to and staying asleep, on and off for the past few years. We’ve never let her sleep in our bed but have let her sleep on the floor...
Read MorePosted on 1/27/2021
Hello, My 2.5 yr old boy still uses a bottle to self soothe at night. This habit was created from living in a one bedroom apartment and trying to keep him quiet through the night when he was...
Read MorePosted on 12/29/2020
My granddaughter is very nervous and bites fingernails and toenails until they bleed. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Do you have any insight as to the cause?
Read MorePosted on 12/22/2020
My 7 year old step son developed a fear of his younger siblings approaching him. After his appointment (he went with his mom at) about his chapped lips that have been bothering him for a while now...
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