I have an adopted son. When we were approved, my wife and I were over the moon. This little boy, whom we had already fallen in love with, was going to be under our care and in our family for…
Posts published in “Parenting”
You have a demanding career that requires a lot of your time and energy. So does your spouse. Maybe one of you—or both—travels for work. Maybe you’re also parents, and you also like to golf, practice yoga, take painting classes…
Some folks are so proud of their child’s intelligence that they brag about it to the world. Emblazoned on the bumper of their SUV is the message: “My kid’s an honor roll student,” to be replaced years later with a…
Happy Saturday! This week’s Psychology Around the Net brings you some insight on “the curse of knowledge” and writers (what is it…and do we care?), the feedback loops among financial, physical, and mental health and how to stop the damaging…
The world today needs optimists more than ever. Optimism, seeing the glass as half full or the conviction that things will eventually work out, is a cornerstone of resilience and an absolute asset in achieving any kind of success in…
“One way to boost our will power and focus is to manage our distractions instead of letting them manage us.” – William Goleman I know I’m not alone in being easily distracted. In fact, with the proliferation of smartphones, smart…
Emotional incest is not sexual. Instead, this type of unhealthy emotional interaction blurs the boundaries between adult and child in a way that is psychologically inappropriate. When a parent looks to their child for emotional support or treats them more…
After all — It is all about her, not you. Not every narcissistic mother fits the fading movie star image — braggadocious and vain saying, “I’m ready for my close up Mr. DeMille.” Because women have been socialized to appear accommodating…
People respond with anger when they feel hurt, upset, frustrated, afraid or threatened in some way. As one of the most powerful of emotions, anger activates every organ and muscle in the entire body, engaging the flight-or-fight response designed to…
Having kids is miraculous and meaningful. And it also tends to disrupt a couple’s emotional connection and sink their relationship satisfaction. Which makes sense. It’s a massive change. Your entire identity shifts, and so does the structure and texture of…
Little kids with autism grow to be teens with autism. As is true with all adolescents, pressures both inside their bodies and in the social world can make them sometimes be irritable and reactive. Parents who live with them adapt…
Parents talk to their kids a lot. In a single day, they can issue a multitude of instructions, orders and requests as they converse with their children. Rarely do they stop to wonder if their kids understand what they are…
A conduct disorder involves both behavioral and emotional problems found in children who do not adhere to what is socially acceptable. Kids who understand, but choose not to follow rules, can often fall into the category of conduct disorder. Teachers…
Parenting is really tough and despite our best intentions, no parent gets it completely right 100% of the time. When it comes to parenting, we have to accept that embarrassing gaffes are just par for the course. The upside —…
Consumerism and materialism can be challenging for parents as the holiday season is approaching. Many people experience pressure to buy gifts, sometimes in excess of what they might be comfortably able to afford. Kids often have high expectations for receiving…
As a psychotherapist treating Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers, I see how her daughter, trapped in the role of the “Good daughter,” hides her true self behind a mask of faux perfection. In this article, I explain how she becomes…
Readers of a certain age may recall the sibling comedy team called The Smothers Brothers and the classic line Tommy delivered to Dick, “Mom always liked you best.” There are some who would tend to agree that parental preference contributed…
Nico loved having the same routine every day of the week. When his routine changed, he would get upset. His emotional meltdowns and rigidity were trying on him and his family. When changes occurred and he was tired, hungry or…
Everyone has expectations for themselves. We often assume these expectations are reasonable. Yet many of them are anything but. We expect ourselves to work without any breaks. We expect ourselves to have the same level of—high—energy every day. We expect…
The phrase “self-esteem” is thrown around frequently when discussing mental health. In the 70s, programs in public school systems encouraged children to think better of themselves. They thought having higher esteem would bolster confidence and fight off depression if it…