You Are Your Child’s First and Most Powerful Teacher Many parenting strategies are not just about changing behavior in the moment. They are about helping children gradually build emotional regulation, flexibility, self awareness, and trust within relationships. One of the most powerful ways children learn these…
Questions about friendships and social skills come up often in my work with children, teens, and their parents. Sometimes parents are noticing patterns that worry them. Other times a child or teen is the one describing how hard social situations can feel. Parents may notice their…
Helping Parents Balance Support and Independence Without Losing Connection At some point in adolescence, your child will begin pushing against the scaffolding that helps them function. This includes the routines, reminders, and systems you carefully put in place to support sleep, schoolwork, self-care, and balance. They…
Understanding Top-Down and Bottom-Up Regulation in Kids and Teens When kids are dysregulated, parents often feel like they’re walking on eggshells. Nothing you say seems to land, and trying to talk it out often makes things worse. This is not a parenting failure. It is a…
What is PRIDE in PCIT? PRIDE is an acronym for a set of parenting skills used during Child-Directed Interaction (CDI), a core part of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). These skills help strengthen the parent-child relationship, increase positive behaviors, and reduce disruptive behaviors through play. The CDI…
The teen years bring a significant shift in the parent–child relationship. As teens begin asserting more independence, even the most caring support can be met with a glare. You want to stay connected and offer guidance, but when you approach things the way you used to,…
An Intro to Understanding Teen Behavior and How Parents Can Shift the Dynamic 1. Testing Limits is Healthy 2. Why the Outbursts Happen 3. All Behavior is a Message 4. Check Your Own Thermometer Before Engaging 5. How to Respond When Ready: Empathy First, Rule Second…
Family Systems and Parenting A Family as a System A family is a system, which means everyone’s actions affect everyone else. When one person is stressed or acting out, it influences how the whole family communicates and responds. Over time, families develop patterns—ways of handling stress,…
By Megan Squibb Ream, LMSW 11/15/2024 What kind of relationship do you want with your child? Parenting is hard. Even with the best intentions, we all have moments we wish we could do over—especially when our child is upset, dysregulated, or when we are not at…
