Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Quote for the Day....

If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” - Jung

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!

As the start of a new year begins I am once again reminded about the successes of a year gone by and the successes to come!  The start of a new year sometimes brings with it the stress of the holidays recently passed.  This rather hectic and even stressful time of the year impacts us in ways that sometimes we aren't aware.  For instance, with the kids not being in school, or if you have not had a regular work schedule over the last few weeks it is easy to get out of the normal routine.  Perhaps you have let bedtimes or meals slip.  Afterall, the family deserves a couple of weeks to let go of the routines since its the holidays, right?  Fast forward to after the holidays, later bedtimes, fewer responsibilities, new toys, more sweets being ingested and in a short period of time you now have a new child with less capacity for rules and expectations than you did a couple of weeks ago.

This is certainly normal for many households this time of the year.  Have your kids changed that much over the last two weeks or have the routines, foods and toys changed?  As school begins again, remember about what has changed at the house and remember to get back to back to basics....

Routine  (regular bed, meal and homework times)

Structure  (reasonable expectations of chores and responsibilities, including cleaning up after self)

Healthy Eating  (fruits and vegetables, and don't forget that foods with protein are good for regulating mood, including eggs, milk, cheese, pork and peanut butter)

Quiet Time (a.k.a. reading time)

Getting outside to exercise!

Remember these ideas to help curb stress and getting you and your family back on track for a successful start to the new year!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Welcome!

As a therapist for over 17 years I have had the good fortune to be part of the lives and stories of families.  Periodically, I have people ask me about the work I do with families and about the types of family situations with whom I have worked.  The purpose of this blog is to convey a sense of the elements that may be missing or not working effectively for a family as they struggle with their son or daughter, and for a parent who is challenged by managing their life or their situation better.

It is my hope that by providing ideas about my experiences of working with families in different living situations, whether they are divorced, going through a life transition, or may have come together through foster care or adoption, and are needing ideas around managing better, that I can give ideas that might make coping with the day to day challenges a bit easier.

Once again, thank you for visiting and please feel free to explore my blog for more information on parenting!