As a therapist, I coach a lot of parents on how to take the positive perspective on their child. Your kid called their teacher a b****? Well at least we know she can express herself! Your four year old had a melt down at the store and then told you it was because they were sad? Good for them on recognizing that emotion! Positive praise is so crucial for increasing compliance in your children. You want to be able to take that outside perspective. But to increase rule following behaviors in young children, it is important to find effective consequences along with positive rewards...   

We can't always predict when there will be a change to our schedule, our plans, or our life. But it's important to recognize that pre-schoolers may have a particularly hard time with changes both expected and unexpected. Read below for a few tips on how to set your preschooler up for success. 

Bullying in schools is common, and you may even be asking your children about it a lot. But what if your child won't tell you that they're being bullied? I recently collaborated on a Romper article, 7 Subtle Ways Your Kid Is Trying to Tell You They're Being Bullied. I find with younger kids especially that it's difficult for them to tell their parents outright that they're being bullied. While a lot of kids in class might say, "so and so is bullying me" or "stop being a bully!" they are usually talking about kids being rude or annoying. For children who are truly being bullied, meaning repeated physical, verbal, or emotional attacks, it's often very uncomfortable for them to acknowledge what's going on.

Kids and teens with anxiety, anger, or avoidance don't always volunteer information about their day. They may provide you with a few vague pieces of information about how school went, concerns they had with friends, or problems at class - or, they might not. It's helpful to have tools to actually hear more about their day. In this week's blog, I share some of the prompts that I often use in session to get kids and teens to dig a little deeper than just telling me "I'm fine." Click below to read more...

Building routines for pre-school aged students is all about preparation. You want to ensure that your young child knows the plan, knows the expectations, and has ample time to ask clarifying questions (even if those questions are just variations on "why?"). Make sure to set a schedule that's easy for both you and your child, and consider getting a second opinion from a professional if it ever feels like your pre-schooler is more anxious, frustrated, or angry than the other kids at the morning drop off. 

What goes into building health family habits? Communication, scheduling, and taking time out to enjoy one another. As a parent, you may be wondering about ways that you as a family can work together to support your children. Below are a few healthy family habits that I recommend families incorporate - especially if they have a child or teen experiencing anxiety, anger management issues, or other outside stressors.

Most parents feel a little disconnected from their teen. But that doesn't mean that your teenager should shut you out all the time, or that you shouldn't continue to make an effort to engage with them. There is a balance between giving them space to develop into the independent adults they'll become, and supporting their growth and development with regular check ins. In this week's post I include a few tips for increasing the connection and communication between you and your teenager.

Anger and anxiety go hand-in-hand. For a child who experiences anxiety, their poor test grade may lead to a huge angry outburst. Or missing the goal at soccer practice may lead to them storming off the field. Their anxiety overruns their pre-frontal cortex, making it impossible for them to stop and think about their actions, and choose something different.

We've come to the end of our 6 week series, so now is a great time for reflection. What was your purpose in picking up this mindfulness practice? Was it to practice anxiety management through meditation? Were you looking for tools to help your child with their anger? Figure out what the root of this was. And, while we can't change people around us - and we can't change what our children do or don't do - we can demonstrate healthy listening and coping skills for them.

Our minds are always churning out lots of thoughts. So it can be helpful, during a meditation practice, to table these thoughts for later. In this week's post, I discuss a visualization tool: thought bubbles. When you allow your thoughts to drift away, you can focus more on your stillness, calming your brain and your body. A critical tool for kids, teens, and parents!

Week 3 and we're halfway there! Today we practice mindful breathing - a fundamental skill so basic you may think you already know it, but trust me - there's room for improvement. Also included in this week's lesson, tips for training your children how to intergrate mindful breathing into their life as well. 

Week 2 of our mindfulness series, and we're exploring how to scan your body for emotions. It's important to be aware of where you hold stress, anxiety, or frustration, as everybody's body is different. And when you're able to identify these trigger points, it's much easier to find 1. where you should focus during your relaxation practice and 2. where you need to check in to make sure your emotions feel controllable. 

"Mindfulness" is probably a word you hear a lot, especially if you're looking for anxiety or anger management strategies. In this upcoming six week series, you'll find out the purpose or mindfulness, how to integrate it into your day-to-day life, and fundamental strategies for using it. This week, we're all about just finding a seat. 

The ease of summer makes way, once again, for the stress, structure, and high expectations of the school year. And no matter the age of your child, the transition back to school can be difficult. So, how can you help your child prepare for and manage the stress?

Your teen is successful at school, sports, and other extracurriculars. You've heard from other parents about the many challenges they experience with their teenager, and their concerns don't really resonate with you. While their adolescents may stay out late partying, engage in risky behaviors, or constantly argue with them, you feel like you have a pretty good relationship overall with your child. But you may be missing some crucial information about your teenager

We can all empathize with teens who just want their space - but sometimes, this gets in the way of you having a healthy relationship with your teenage son or daughter. These 6 tips are just the starting point! If you would like to hear more, or if you think your relationship with your teen goes beyond the scope of what's covered here, contact Kelsey to set up your free 15-minute phone consultation. Kelsey works with teens from her office in Webster Groves, MO.

Some people want a quick fix. Anxiety, like many other concerns, can take time to address and manage. Medication can be an important component of managing anxiety, but it's not an instant solution, and there are many steps you can take beforehand.

Anxiety and anger cause our body to react in very similar ways. Adults know how to take a step back - but how can we teach our children to do the same?