During these unprecedented times, most of us have been experiencing powerful emotions, often alternating between feelings of loss, anxiety, anger and frustration, being overwhelmed, and at times even apathetic. I know I find myself trying to pause in order to understand what is happening and then I realize that all these powerful emotions get in […]
Helping the Child Who Dissociates
Eight-year-old Sherry (not her real name) suddenly appears to be frozen, staring off into space. She can stand like this for a minute or more. Her adoptive parents have learned that these frequent moments of dissociation are very common in children who have experienced significant trauma in their young lives. Mental Health America provides an […]
The Power of Singing as a Tranquilizer?
Have you ever wondered why parents often sing softly to their babies as they rock and pat them? Especially to soothe them when they are upset? Music can sometimes be magical How many of us find it easier to do our work if music plays in our ears? Do we find it more soothing or […]
The Real Secret to Happiness
Most of us, as parents and as people, want to experience a happy life. We want our children to be happy. But what is the secret to happiness? In November 2015, psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, a director of research at Harvard School of Adult Development, posted a Ted Talk in which he revealed the outcomes of […]
PTSD: Why Does It Happen? How Survivors Can Heal?
The PTSD label is often used and yet can often be misunderstood. It seems we have a great deal of PTSD in our culture and we need to be aware of its symptoms and possible coping strategies. We need awareness of resources for those who experience PTSD Symptoms This article by Robyn E. Brickel summarizes […]
Can We Train Our Brain to Pay Better Attention for a Better Life?
Do you find your mind wandering when you want to stay attentive? One of the most significant problems in school, in learning —and even in the workplace— is the ability to maintain focus or having a wandering mind. If mind-wandering is a concern, you are not alone In this information-rich article by Amisha Jha, we […]
What Are Traits of a Healthy Family: Know the Importance of Fathers
In my last post, I shared what I think is fascinating information about the nature of families and how that nature has evolved over time. Using the 1980s book Traits of a Healthy Family by Dolores Curran, I shared some of the differences in the purposes family serve today versus purposes in past centuries. Now […]
Why “Mom Brain” Is Good for Mothers and Babies
As we approach another Mother’s Day, I want to focus just a bit on how the brain changes in a young mother. Many young moms feel this very upsetting sense of not being as cogent or intact in their thinking or in their memory as they used to be. It’s okay, says science, that these brain […]
Tech Insiders Reveal Why You Should Care About “Brain Hacking”
As we look around, so many people seem hooked and tethered to their phones. Easy to wonder if we as a society are too addicted to our phones, right? And many parents think their teens are addicted, too. This report by Anderson Cooper offers some very eye-opening intent by those who are designing our […]
5 Great Child-Comforting Parenting Tips? Yes, Doing What Comes Naturally
One of the challenges of parenting involves finding ways to comfort infants, babies, toddlers and children of all ages. And it turns out, that much of the wisdom of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents actually resonates with neuroscience. Doing what comes naturally offsets some sad and incorrect comforting advice from earlier eras Unfortunately, advice of the late 1800’s and early […]
