Personal Growth
What Your Family’s Busyness is Really About
What Your Family’s Busyness Is Really About Last Tuesday, I watched a mom in the grocery store parking lot. She was sitting in her car, engine off, staring at her phone calendar with the kind of expression you’d expect from someone decoding ancient hieroglyphics. Soccer practice, piano lessons, parent-teacher conferences, a work deadline, someone’s birthday […]
The Comparison Culture Poisoning Your Home
When Everyone Else’s Life Looks Like a Highlight Reel You’re scrolling through your phone at 9 PM, finally sitting down after a day that felt like herding cats through a tornado. And there it is: another post. A neighbor’s kid just got accepted into an elite summer program. Your cousin’s family is on their third […]
The Silence That’s Louder Than Any Argument
The Silence That’s Louder Than Any Argument Last week, a couple sat in my office for their third session. Sarah stared at her phone. Mark studied the ceiling tiles like they held the secrets of the universe. When I asked how their week had been, Sarah said “Fine” in a voice that could freeze lava. […]
What Your Social Media is Teaching Your Kids About Life
What Your Social Media is Teaching Your Kids About Life Last week, a mom in my practice sat across from me and laughed—the kind of laugh that’s half amusement, half horror. “I caught my seven-year-old posing with her smoothie this morning,” she said. “She tilted it just right, fixed her hair, and said, ‘How’s this […]
What Your Phone is Doing to Your Marriage
What Your Phone is Doing to Your Marriage A couple describing what they called “the slow fade.” They weren’t fighting. Nobody had an affair. They still split chores fairly and tag-teamed bedtime like pros. But somewhere between the group texts, work emails, and doomscrolling at 10 PM, they’d become roommates with a shared calendar. “We’re […]
Why Your Child’s Boredom is Essential
Why Your Child’s Boredom Is Essential (And Why You Should Stop Fixing It) Last Tuesday, I watched a parent in my office practically levitate with anxiety as her eight-year-old son uttered the five words that apparently signal the apocalypse: “Mom, I’m so bored.” Her immediate response? She rattled off twelve activity options in under thirty […]
What Your Child’s Friendships Say About Their Heart
What Your Child’s Friendships Say About Their Heart Last week, a mom sat in my office fighting back tears. “My daughter had three kids over for her birthday,” she said. “Three. Meanwhile, my neighbor’s daughter had twenty-five.” She paused, looking almost embarrassed. “Does that mean something’s wrong with her? With us?” I leaned forward. “Tell […]
The Bedtime Secret That Builds Emotional Intelligence
The Bedtime Secret That Builds Emotional Intelligence Last week, a mom in my practice collapsed into the couch cushions during our session and whispered, “I just can’t do the bedtime battle anymore.” Her five-year-old had been resisting sleep for months — demands for water, suddenly urgent questions about dinosaurs, elaborate negotiations worthy of a corporate […]
What Your Child’s Drawings Reveal About Their Inner World
What Your Child’s Drawings Reveal About Their Inner World Last week, a mom came into my office clutching a crumpled piece of paper like it held state secrets. “Look at this,” she whispered, smoothing out her six-year-old’s drawing. It showed their family — but she and her husband were tiny stick figures in the corner […]
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 […]