19th March 2009
What are good rules and rewards for teenagers? Why do we bother putting rules into place? Limits and guidelines during adolescence are an important part of getting the budding adult ready to leave home. During this preparation time, keeping focused on the...
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10th March 2009
"10, 9, 8… check responsibility levels… 7, 6, 5… check independence levels… 4, 3, 2… Houston, we have a problem. Johnny's 18 but not ready to launch. He's not ready to live on his own. Abort launch!"
It is a commonly held believe that once ch...
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28th February 2009
Children coping with divorce have difficulty because their perceptions of reality are forced to change. To understand their challenge, I have created a concept to help children and parents visualize the dilemma they face when confronted with these changes...
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20th February 2009
In the past, families depended on their children to participate in household chores. Today, parents talk as if it's a chore to require their children to participate in the maintaining of the household. Managing a house full of people is easier today with ...
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16th February 2009
Anxiety is one of the most prevalent issues among the young clients I counsel. Children feel anxious over events or something in their environment. They experience physical and mental symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweaty palms, stomach cramps, an...
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03rd February 2009
What's on your family's plate? Work, volunteering, sports, school, groups, clubs, social activities, household chores? Do you ever wonder how you will keep your family bonded? I have worked as a child and family counselor for over a decade and keeping fam...
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23rd January 2009
Change is difficult, especially for children! The "thinking" part of their brains is not completely developed yet and their emotions are immature. Although children are born with distinctive dispositions, they are effected by the emotional environment in ...
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23rd January 2009
Anger is unavoidable. Feelings of anger are triggered by factors in our environment and are accompanied by certain physiological reactions. Anger management focuses on the negative expression of these feelings. When one externalizes anger, one can mistrea...
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23rd January 2009
Establishing routines and patterns of behavior are important aids for children. Much of family conflict revolves around getting from one place to another or from one activity to another. Parents come for counseling because their children resist getting up...
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23rd January 2009
Do your children awaken you multiple times in the night? Do you lie with your children in bed until they finally fall asleep? Does your child slip into your bed in the middle of the night? Have your children's sleeping habits driven you to the point of ma...
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07th January 2009
How does one keep calm when parenting? After 15 years of counseling, I have found that no matter what parenting strategies are applied, keeping emotionally balanced is key to family mental health. Anger management, for example, provides parents the calm t...
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07th January 2009
Co-parenting isn't easy. It's actually quite a chore. When neither parent is willing to negotiate or communicate, the child has the job of transitioning from one parenting style to the other. As a parent educator and family therapist, I have seen many anx...
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07th January 2009
Did you know that you are your child's first playmate? Emotional self-regulation skills, social skills, and relationship skills come from that early bond you form with your child. One of the challenges for so many parents is that they are now adults and h...
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Laura Doerflinger, a licensed mental health counselor, is the Executive Director of FamilyAuthority.com and the author of the audio book, Emotionally Balanced Parenting.
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