This blog follows last week’s post on Pandemic Hangovers for Parents. It offers a checklist for a PARENT CHECK-UP that parents can use to assess their needs and form better plans for themselves as they emerge from pandemic restrictions. Recently, I was meeting with a school counselor who supported hundreds of kids and almost twice that many parents during ...READ MORE »
As we begin to get vaccinated and anticipate returning to routines next fall, many parents are already angsting about how they will help their children break habits that have formed during COVID and be ready for returning to a busier routine. During my walks with other mom friends, we are already stressing over how to wean our kids off ...READ MORE »
I don’t know about you, but 2021 has brought hope and the realization that this has been a long long haul so far. I’m not someone who tires easily or gets discouraged quickly. And 10 months into this pandemic, I now feel it more than ever. While January 2021 brought hope as many started the vaccine process, it also ...READ MORE »
Winter has arrived! We have spent the last several months surviving, reacting, adjusting, re-adjusting, and working to make sense of some of the most stressful personal, community, national, and global times we have ever experienced. We are not always feeling prepared for more of the same as we begin winter. With each day, however, we are moving through it. Some ...READ MORE »
COVID-19 has impacted our world in numerous ways. Here in our nation’s capital and surrounding suburbs, children have had to adjust to remote learning. Some students are returning back to school at the time of this writing with varying “hybrid” schedules, while others are continuing remote learning from home. As a therapist working with young children and their families in ...READ MORE »
As I read the book, “The Rabbit Listened” by Cori Doerrfeld, to my daughter last night it had me thinking about what it means to really listen. As a child and teen therapist in Washington, DC I am often talking with parents about how to help their children listen more effectively. In this post, I’m going to talk about ...READ MORE »
I’m writing this morning on a topic that many of us are facing as we work to transition our children and teens into virtual learning environments during the pandemic. Screen anxiety shows up in children and teens when they resist, avoid, or shut down in the face of demands to participate in asynchronous and especially synchronous instruction during distance ...READ MORE »
Why are family routines important for my children’s well-being? Recent medical, economic, and social crises pose an ongoing threat to what is normal in children’s lives. Many have experienced upsets in routines related to school, out-of-school activities and family life. You and your children have likely experienced these upsets. Leaders of children organizations around the world agree that focusing on having and ...READ MORE »
After months of virtually seeing couples and families in my psychotherapy practice in Washington, DC and Bethesda, MD during the pandemic, I’m noticing how much relationships are changing due to the impact of COVID-19. Many of us in the DC metro area have been sheltering in place for almost 12 weeks–we’ve home schooled our kids, worked remotely at home, ...READ MORE »
While the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) has changed its screen time guidelines for younger children ages 2- 5 years old {<1 hour daily of high quality use with adequate sleep, physical activity and media free zones/times), it is less clear about guidelines for school-aged children and teens: Where We Stand: Screen Time The APA (American Psychological Association) gives ...READ MORE »
