Kids are spending an average four-plus hours a day with screen media; adults check their phones nearly 50 times a day. But what if, instead of distancing us, technology were instead designed to help families bond and children grow? That’s the utopian sales pitch of apps like Povi and Muse: Pay some money, get happier kids. My question is: Does …
When a Child Thinks Life Is Unfair, Use Game Theory
As soon as Kristina Dooley’s 5-year-old triplets see an elevator, they race to be the one who gets there first. “When they get to the buttons, elbows start flying,” she says. Almost immediately, she hears the complaint “That’s not fair!” from the child who doesn’t get to hit a button. A child’s list of things that are “not fair” is …
Summertime: Is Your Child Dehydrated?
Most children in the United States do not drink enough water, and when it’s hot outside, they may need to drink even more. But getting children to drink water can be a challenge. We spoke with medical experts, coaches, camp counselors and parents to find out how much water kids should drink in the summer, and how adults can help …
Attachment Theory & Relationships
Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships? The most important parenting you’ll ever do happens before your child turns one — and may affect her for the rest of her life. One mother’s journey through the science of attachment. The stage is set: a room with two chairs and some toys on the floor. A mother and her 1-year-old baby …
Connecting with Our Kids in the Midst of Busy Lives
How to convey your genuine gratitude for the moments you share with your children. Since my daughter, Opal, was just over a year old (she’s now six), I’ve tried to make a point of carving out what we call “special time” with her. This is time that I’m with her with zero interruptions. No email. No break for tea (unless …
Have a kid who’s out of control? A new therapy offers a kind of parental empowerment.
Edith, a retired Capitol Hill staffer from Northeast, was at the end of her rope last year over the mayhem her 5-year-old great-grandson Wayne was causing at preschool. “I was on speed dial” at the school, says Edith, who is raising two of her great-grandchildren. “He was hitting kids, destroying the classroom, tearing the ABCs off the wall, just terrorizing …
Two-Minute Warnings Make Turning Off the TV Harder
Two-minute warnings may work well in sports, but they don’t, apparently, work for children. New research shows that giving a child a “two-minute warning” before turning off a video game or TV show does not make it easier for a child to turn away from a screen. In fact, it makes it harder. To learn more about how families manage …
Does Talk Therapy Really Work?
A young woman came to see me on the recommendation of her physician. “I don’t know what she thinks you can do for me,” she said. “I just can’t get myself to do what I need to do. Maybe some cognitive therapy – something that would change my thinking. Maybe that would help.” I asked her to tell me in …
The Many Benefits of Talk Therapy
Studies show treatment can help with pain, sleep disorders, and even heart disease. Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, can play a critical role in treating many emotional and mental health conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder. According to a new study, even a few sessions with a therapist can lower the risk of suicide among at-risk individuals.To read more from …
4 Ways Everyone Can Benefit From Therapy
By now, you likely have a go-to coping mechanism for when stress and problems arise. Hopefully it’s something on the healthy side of the spectrum, such as seeking comfort from the ones you love, or getting those endorphins flowing with some exercise. But no matter what way you deal, everyone can use a little extra support in handling life’s challenges …
What is Psychotherapy?
Do you ever feel too overwhelmed to deal with your problems? If so, you’re not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than a quarter of American adults experience depression, anxiety or another mental disorder in any given year. Others need help coping with a serious illness, losing weight or stopping smoking. Still others struggle to cope …
What can psychotherapy do to help with clinical depression?
The role of psychotherapy in treating clinical depression is to help the person develop good coping strategies for dealing with everyday stressors. In addition, it can encourage you to use your medications properly. Many studies support the idea that therapy can be a powerful treatment for depression. Some, although not all, have also found that combining depression medicine with therapy …
11 Intriguing Reasons To Give Talk Therapy A Try
Some people are under the misapprehension that therapy is for wusses. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As Richard Taite, founder of Cliffside Malibu and big proponent of behavior change, told me earlier this year, “Not only do successful people not fear therapy, they embrace it…. Psychotherapy is a tool that creates success. Smart people use it.” And therapy …
When Parents Blame Themselves for That ‘Difficult’ Baby
A number of people described having a very difficult first child who was therefore also a last child — or having a difficult second child and thinking, if this one had come first, there would never have been a second one. Everybody telling these stories had experienced that sense of direct parental responsibility — the bad sleeper must be a …