“She’s not really good at soccer and she doesn’t really like it, but all her friends are doing it.” “If I miss a practice, even for a doctor’s appointment, I get benched.” “If my son didn’t have an after-school activity every day of the week, he’d sit around eating junk …
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My Son Is Being Deployed; How Do I Help My Other Kids Cope?
How can I help my younger children deal with their older brother’s deployment? – Beth When your son or daughter in the military is deployed, you probably have many emotions. It’s natural to feel proud of his or her service and courage. It’s also natural to feel sad or worried about …
Natural Disasters: How Families Can Help
All too often, the news is filled with upsetting reports of the devastating effects of tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis, and other forces of nature. In their aftermath, many people want to know how to aid those who’ve been displaced or injured. Here are some ways that families can help. …
Postpartum Depression
Whether you’re becoming a mom for the first time or the fourth, the days and weeks immediately following your baby’s birth can be as overwhelming as they are joyful and exciting. Many women experience major mood shifts after childbirth, ranging from brief, mild baby blues to the longer-lasting, deeper clinical …
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Someone who is the victim of (or threatened by) violence, injury, or harm can develop a mental health problem called postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can happen in the first few weeks after an event, or even years later. People with PTSD often re-experience their trauma in the form of “flashbacks,” memories, …
Preparing Your Child for a Move
Sooner or later, many families face the prospect of moving. Disruptive as moving can be for parents, the experience can be even more traumatic for kids, who may not be a part of the decision to move and might not understand it. Kids can need some time and special attention …
Preparing Your Child for a New Sibling
Preparing Kids The arrival of a new baby can bring many changes to a family. Parents spend a lot of energy on preparations, and after the baby arrives, much of the family’s attention involves caring for the newborn. All this change can be hard for older siblings to handle. It’s common for …
Questions and Answers About Sex
Questions and Answers About Sex Answering their kids’ questions about sex is a responsibility that many parents dread. Otherwise confident moms and dads often feel tongue-tied and awkward when it comes to talking about puberty and where babies come from. But the subject shouldn’t be avoided. Parents can help foster …
Raising Confident Kids
It takes confidence to be a kid. Whether going to a new school or stepping up to bat for the first time, kids face a lot of uncharted territory. Naturally, parents want to instill a can-do attitude in their kids so that they’ll bravely take on new challenges and, over …
School Violence and the News
Incidents of school violence are terrible and frightening, but fortunately they are rare. Although it might not seem that way, the rate of crime at U.S. schools that involve physical harm has been declining since the early 1990s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fewer than …