I have a large family. I have one daughter- one of the middle children- who is always whining and clingy. She uses this piercing voice when she does not get what she wants. When the house gets busy, dinner time or in the morning, that is when she starts. All I do is yell at […]
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I was just counseling a mother, who kept on saying, “I can’t handle my kid, he is so difficult.” One of the strategies that we discussed was changing her mindset. I told her to tell herself, “I can handle this. Sometimes my kids misbehaves but most of the […]
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I have always loved words. What fascinated me was the manipulation of words to give the right amount of meaning and flavor to what I wanted to express. Words, I noted, can be used in a myriad of ways to create connections between people, reflect emotions, promote good will, make strong statements, and soothe anger. […]
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When adults dismiss children’s feelings, we essentially tell them that their problems are unimportant. They become stuck in their negative emotions and direct their anger toward the adult. As soon as we empathize, they feel understood and can move forward to solve their problem or can let go of their negative emotions. This creates good […]
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My son is having trouble with his schoolwork. He says he is dumb, I tell him he is not, and it doesn’t seem to help he just gets more upset. My child complains because all his friends have ipods, Nintendo’s, and flat screen TV’s and he doesn’t. Anything I say to him makes him roll […]
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Dear Adina, My daughter seems to have low self-esteem. She says things like “I am so stupid.” “I am not as pretty as so and so” or “I can’t do anything right” etc. I keep on telling her she is pretty and smart and fun; she gets annoyed and says “you just say that because […]
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Children learn what they live. Teenagers are no exception. If they live in a household where shouting, profanity, or worse- goes on. It is more likely that the teen will deal with aggression in the same manner. But even in households where these examples have not been set, many teens go through an aggressive or […]
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