Head & Heart Parents

Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event “Adult support and reassurance is the key to helping children through a traumatic time” A GUIDE FOR PARENTS, CAREGIVERS, AND TEACHERS  Children and youth can face emotional strains after a traumatic event such as a car crash or violence.1 [...]

Little kids want to be big kids, and parents can leverage that desire to get cooperation when behavior problems arise. In one example, 4-year-old Emma’s mom asked her to blow her nose. “No!” Emma shouted. Remembering how important it was for Emma to feel like a big kid, Mom said, “Oh, that’s right, I know [...]

Would you like your life as a parent to be complicated? Would you like to live in a constant state of confusion and anxiety? Would you like to feel unsure about how to deal with the problems your children create? Would you like to frequently think to yourself something like, “Oh, no. Now what do [...]

Wouldn’t it be nice to start each evening with some time to sit, relax and chat with your husband, wife or significant other? Evening parenting takes a lot of energy after a full day of either working outside the home or parenting. One couple I worked with used to try to sit and talk when [...]

Evening family time can sound so lovely … family dinner, playtime, baths, stories and cuddles. In many households, however, people don’t quite feel like they’re “livin’ the dream.” Quite the contrary, in fact. Many couples I work with tend to “read” each other and make guesses about how their mate is feeling. Fact: they often [...]

How often do you hear this? And how often are your kids happy with the suggestions you make? Typical parents say, “I hear it often, and the kids are never excited with my suggestions.” I know a man who says that he once made the mistake of telling his parents that he was bored. For [...]

How does a wise parent respond when his/her youngster says, “My teacher is mean!”? Because we care deeply for our kids, there are two traps that are far too easy to slip into: Trap #1: Mary’s well-meaning mom says, “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll give her a call and get this straightened out.” Is Mary learning [...]

Lisa was just about at the end of her patience with little Freddie. He was at that age where he was testing her constantly, and now he was at it again. He had been told many times not to tease the cat. In fact, she had threatened all sorts of dire consequences if he did. [...]

It seems that just about every family has at least one child who spends most of his time trying to figure out what others want.. so that he can do exactly the opposite. Frustrated by their testy behavior, it’s pretty darn easy to fall into less than effective parenting practices. I hear some of these [...]

When kids go full blast until bedtime they have trouble. Parents who complain that their children have a sleep problem often discover the problem is that they are expecting their kids to make an abrupt switch from a high activity level to sleep. It is better for a child to slow down and then switch [...]