Surprise! I don’t like surprises. The surprise trip to Disneyworld has been planned for weeks.  FastPasses have been bought, room reservations made, bags packed in secret. When the surprise is revealed to your anxious child, he/she complains, gets angry, or seems ungrateful!  The reaction is definitely not what you expected, and everybody is disappointed.  Similar reactions occur with smaller surprises:  birthdays, alterations in weekend or evening plans, changes in afterschool events. Parents think their attempts at warm, loving surprises would be welcome—but they are n ..read more

The Family Dinner Family dinners were commonplace only a few decades ago – families gathered for an evening meal together without the distractions of television, social media, and organized sports and afterschool activities. Today, few families are able to sit down regularly for a family meal; rather, family dinners are sporadic, depending on schedules of parents and kids—this is modern life! Recent research indicates children whose families eat dinner together benefit in multiple ways, from increased verbal ability, decreased stress, healthier diets, and a sense of belonging and routine. W ..read more

The Three-Legged Stool Foundations to Emotion Regulation I have a mantra in my practice—Diet, Sleep, Exercise – how are these going for your child? Diet, sleep, and exercise are the legs of your child’s emotional foundation; a weakness in any area will reduce the chances of a child doing his or her best in the world. Some kids report to me that they don’t eat any breakfast, or skip lunch because they don’t like what is packed or served, or they eat too much junk. Others note that they don’t go to sleep at a regular time, or get 6 or less hours of sleep a night, or they stay up very late on ..read more