(424) 744-3774

Parent Support

A photo of a woman sitting cross legged on her bed. She is wearing a white top with a black design on it. In her left arm is an infant dressed in a diaper who is crying. With her right hand she is working on her laptop. The woman has a slightly distressed look on her face.Every stage of parenthood has amazing, joyful moments…

But they’re not all that way!

As a new parent…
You might struggle to find your footing with a new baby. Suddenly, you’re in a new role, one for which you might not have helpful family supports… and one for which you definitely have no instruction manual.

If you have a toddler…
Tantrums, hitting, the constant saying of “no,” and the competing drive toward and away from mom or dad are hallmark struggles during toddlerhood. But, while some call them the “terrible twos,” these years are filled with amazing developments toward independence.

When you have school-age children…
School can be a place of learning and fun, or it can be the source of a great deal of stress for children and their parents. This time is filled with learning new skills (academic and otherwise), developing meaningful friendships, and building on earlier opportunities for independent behaviors. This is also when issues such as ADHD, social anxiety, and other behavior challenges are often first seen. Sometimes, we know that something isn’t right, but we just don’t know what’s wrong.

A photo of a girl sitting at a table. She has her hands up as if to say "what!?" to the woman who is standing to her left. The girl is wearing a white t shirt and a black and white striped sweater. The woman is standing with her left hand leaning on the table. That woman is wearing blue pants, a beige top with a white sweater over it. In the background is a bookcase with a few books in it.Parenting kids in middle school…

Perhaps the most challenging moments of development occur during the middle school years. The range of “normal” behaviors is so wide, and some children look and act like their school-aged selves while others are leaping into adolescence at a very rapid pace. Many physiological changes begin at this time, and their bodies often feel awkward and emotions out of their control. Problems such as bullying (as the bullied child or the child doing the bullying), ‘mean girl behavior,’ and peer pressure to take risks are meaningful struggles during this time. Moodiness, academic struggles, issues with friends, and the ever-present stress created by social media are among the issues parents try to manage.

For high-schoolers…
The high school student’s brain is not yet fully developed… but try telling them that! The challenges faced by high school students feel like life-or-death struggles, and the emotions they experience are powerful and real. Academic pressures to succeed (internal stress or pressure placed on them by parents, teachers, and peers) and plan for the future often feel overwhelming and can lead to anxiety and depression. The push toward independence is often fraught with risk-taking behaviors such as drug and alcohol experimentation, sexual behaviors, and household rule-breaking. The struggle to understand who they really are is real!

When your family experiences trauma…
Traumatic experiences for families include the end of a marriage, the death of a parent, or introducing a new step-parent. It’s important to understand what your child might think or feel… and develop new parenting behaviors to meet those special needs.

A photo of what appears to be a father and son playing video games. They are both sitting on a couch, facing us, each with smiles on their faces. They each have a game controller in their hands. The father is wearing jeans, a white t shirt and a blue shirt over it. The boy is wearing black jeans and blue plaid shirt.I can help you think through and articulate your concerns.

Let’s talk about what is worrying you. Describe it to me, help me understand what feels off or not quite right. I can help you figure out if what is worrying you is something we can talk about together and come to understand or something that requires extra attention.

Sometimes there are ways to understand behaviors and emotions that give us relief, while other times, it will lead us to ask more questions. Sometimes teachers or doctors wonder about our children, creating more questions that need to be answered. I can help you understand what the professionals in your life are saying and what their recommendations are.

Has a doctor recommended a specific treatment or medication? I can help you understand what all of that means for your daily life as a family.

We’ll strategize to find the answers you need.

What, if anything, needs to be done? Sometimes doing nothing is the best way to address a behavior problem. Sometimes, we can put specific behavioral interventions into place that will help manage whatever is going on.

You’ll develop better communication skills.

Effective communication involves presenting your ideas clearly and your ability to listen to what your child or teenager is saying. Your message needs to be relayed in a way that your audience can understand. We will examine how ideas are shared and how disputes are handled and create a more effective means of communication.

Does your home life feel chaotic, and you don’t know where to turn?

Are your kids constantly fighting with one another… or with you?

Do you feel as though you are failing as a parent?

Are you worried about the mental health of your children?

I can help you make sense of what is going on in your home and with your children, and help you develop a strategy to bring calm to the chaos.

Call me for a complimentary 20-minute consultation: (424) 744-3774.