Tag Archives: parenting
7 Steps Toward Becoming a Fabulous StepParent
In my last post I shared some thoughts on the important role of stepparents. Today I’m adding these specific steps toward becoming a fabulous stepparent! I’m sure there are more, but this is a good start: 1. Respect the role … Continue reading
Thoughts on Blending Families
Last month Jada Pinkett Smith, the wife of Will Smith, created a bit of a stir on Facebook when she posted her thoughts on what it took to happily blend families. This is what she wrote: A letter to a … Continue reading
Limit Setting with Children, Part 2
Last week I shared my favorite limit setting technique: Acknowledge the feeling Communicate the Limit Target an alternative I believe it is an excellent beginning to setting appropriate limits with kids of all ages. Over the last couple of decades … Continue reading
Limit Setting with Children
We’ve all been there. We’re shopping in the grocery store or roaming the aisles of Target and we hear it. Child whining, or maybe having a full blown tantrum. The parent, usually mom, is trying to calm him so she … Continue reading
Helping Children Cope with the Tragedy in Connecticut
We are all reeling from the scenes of the horrendous school shooting in Connecticut yesterday. The footage of parents running to the school to look for their children, children being led from the school in single file while being escorted … Continue reading
Where have all the parents gone?
Occasionally I get on a soapbox. Most often it is about one of two topics, either fathers that have jumped ship all together or parents who allow their kids to run the family. The latter is on my mind today, … Continue reading
Communicating with Adolescents
One of the most frequent complaints I hear as a therapist has to do with parenting adolescents. Parents often identify this time of a child’s life as the most difficult time to parent. And while I understand why that’s the … Continue reading
A New Year’s Resolution for Parents
As we ring in the New Year I believe it is the perfect time to look at our relationships and resolve to commit our best selves to those that are most important to us. That may be our spouse, or … Continue reading
Good Night, Sleep Tight–The Importance of Sleep
Why do so many of us have problems with sleep? As a culture, it seems we undervalue sleep and rest, in general. Perhaps we feel to rest and get a full night’s sleep is lazy. “We need to get everything … Continue reading
Television and Kids
Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics warned that children under 2 years of age should not spend any time in front of televisions, computers, or other “screens.” They stated that the time spent in front of these screens is not … Continue reading
Gretchen Derda (Woosley), MSW, LCSW 