This blog is written by the clinicians at Jonah Green and Associates, a mental health practice based in Kensington, MD that provides quality services for children, teens, families, and adults. It is intended as a resource for families who are seeking to expand their knowledge about mental health and mental health services, and also as a resource for families who are seeking quality mental health services, especially in the mid-Atlantic region. Please feel free to post questions and comments on any of the entries as well as on any topics or articles from our companion web site www.childandfamilymentalhealth.com.
Parental dating is a difficult topic for families after a divorce or death of a loved one. It takes time for both the parent and child to cope with the feelings associated with these transitions, and there often comes a time when a parent wants to start dating again. It is important to consider how new relationships will affect your child and what you can do to make it easier for them. Here are some tips for talking to your child about dating:
We are pleased to present a guest post by Psychologist Judith Glasser, Ph.D., a local Psychologist with over 30 years of experience. For Dr. Glasser’s bio, please scroll to the end of the post.
Life with a family member with ADHD can be stressful; wonderful in some ways, but stressful in others. People with ADHD often have a great deal of energy and enthusiasm for life. However they also lose things, forget things and are impulsive and distractible. This combination of difficulties can lead to being late for events or forgetting to pick up a child at school. It can also mean that sometimes things get said in impulsive ways that would be better off not said. All of these kinds of behaviors can lead to hurt feelings.
Every parent’s number one responsibility is to keep their child safe. Since pictures of missing children began to first appear on milk containers in the 1980’s, parents .have responded by teaching their children about “stranger danger.” Many children are instructed from a very early age not to talk to strangers. Yet the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), whose photos of lost children appear on milk containers, believes that this message is both insufficient and counterproductive in keeping children safe. NCMEC and other child safety professionals do not support the message of “stranger danger” for the following reasons: [Read more…]
It happened. You blinked and the month of January was over. Before you could process what happened, two days of February were forever gone from the calendar. While we cannot stop time in 2012, we can stop to evaluate how we want to spend time the New Year. So, here’s the million-dollar question: How do you want to spend the remaining 332 days of 2012 with your family?
A recent article from about.com revealed that over 50% of Americans vowed to appreciate loved ones and spend more time family and friends in 2012. If the truth is told, many of us are included in this number but have no clue how to realistically make this happen in our daily lives. Below are a few strategies for creating quality family time with your family this year.
This guest post was written by Jessica Brodey, a trained and certified Gentle Sleep CoachSM. Through her company Eat-Sleep-Love, Jessica provides private consultations with parents to help them develop healthy sleep habits for their children by creating and implementing sleep plans that are tailored to each child’s needs and respect parental philosophies; seminars and workshops on sleep strategies for parents of infants and young children; Happiest Baby courses; breastfeeding education and support; and guidance, advocacy and support for parents seeking early interventions, assessments, Individualized Education Programs, or Section 504 Plans for their children. Please see Jessica’s contact information at the end of the post.
The first six months of parenting a new baby are a challenging time, especially for first-time parents. New parents struggle with a changing family dynamic, the responsibility of getting to know their new baby, and balancing feeding, sleeping, and other care needs. Parents welcoming a subsequent baby into the family share these same challenges, but must also balance the needs of their newborn against the needs of their older children. Sleep (or the lack thereof) is a critical factor for parents as they embark on parenting their new baby.
[Read more…]
