Parenting
The Homework Battle That’s Not About Homework
The Homework Battle That’s Not About Homework Last week, a mom sat in my office with tears in her eyes. “We spent two hours fighting over a math worksheet last night,” she said. “Two hours. For ten problems. And by the end, we were both crying.” She paused, then whispered the part that hurt most: […]
Why Your Anxious Child Needs This One Phrase
Why Your Anxious Child Needs This One Phrase A mom told me about her eight-year-old daughter who was refusing to go to school. “She kept saying her stomach hurt,” the mom explained, eyes welling up. “I took her to three doctors. They all said she was fine. But every morning, she’d cry and cling to […]
What I Wish I Knew About Developmental Leaps
What I Wish I Knew About Developmental Leaps Last Tuesday, I sat across from a mother who looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “I don’t understand,” she said, tears pooling. “Two weeks ago, my daughter was this happy, curious little person. Now she clings to my leg like a koala on a eucalyptus tree […]
The After-School Question That Actually Gets Kids Talking
The After-School Question That Actually Gets Kids Talking Last Tuesday, I watched a dad pick up his second-grader from school. Full of hope and curiosity, he asked the classic question: “How was your day?” His daughter’s response? “Fine.” Then silence. The kind of silence that makes you wonder if your child has taken a vow […]
Why Your Child’s Lying Might Be a Good Sign
Why Your Child’s Lying Might Be a Good Sign Last Tuesday, a mom sat in my office with tears in her eyes. “She looked right at me,” she said, “with chocolate smeared on his face, and told me he didn’t eat the cookies. I don’t know what’s worse — that he lied, or that he […]
The 5-Second Response That Calms Any Meltdown
The 5-Second Response That Calms Any Meltdown Last Tuesday, I watched a father in the grocery store do something extraordinary. His daughter, maybe four years old, had just launched into full meltdown mode over a box of cookies. Instead of reasoning, bribing, or doing the tight-lipped march to the car, he dropped to one knee, […]
What Your Child’s ‘I Hate You’ is Really Trying to Tell You
What Your Child’s “I Hate You” Is Really Trying to Tell You The first time my daughter screamed “I hate you!” at me, I was standing in the cereal aisle of Target holding a box of store-brand flakes instead of the unicorn-covered sugar bombs she wanted. She was four. I was exhausted. And for about […]
What Your Teen’s Eye Roll is Really Communicating
What Your Teen’s Eye Roll Is Really Communicating Last week, a mom sat across from me in my office and said, with a weary laugh, “I swear, if I got a dollar for every eye roll my 14-year-old gives me, I could retire.” She paused, then added more quietly, “But honestly? It breaks my heart […]
Why Time-Outs Are Creating the Very Behavior You Fear
Why Time-Outs Are Creating the Very Behavior You Fear There’s a moment I’ll never forget from my practice. A mom — smart, loving, completely exhausted — sat across from me and said, “I don’t understand. I do everything by the book. Time-outs, consequences, staying calm. But my son is worse. He hits more. He screams […]
The Question That Transformed My Picky Eater Overnight
The Question That Transformed My Picky Eater Overnight I’ll never forget the evening with Emma, a mom whose five-year-old had eaten nothing but chicken nuggets and crackers for six months. She was exhausted, tearful, and convinced she’d somehow failed at this fundamental parenting thing. “I’ve tried everything,” she whispered. “Hiding vegetables, bribing with dessert, making […]