Gearing Up for Transitions

As parents, we often find ourselves reacting to phases and stages and things that our children go through—but sometimes, we can actually prepare ourselves and our children in advance for transitions and life changes that are coming up on the horizons. Things like changing schools or a move might come to mind, but there are other transitions that can be traumatic as well. Moving into a new class, starting a new activity, learning to drive, searching for a college, getting ready to move out, going off to summer camp—you can see how there are so many changes and events that … Continue reading

Behavior Patterns

While sometimes our children surprise us with off-the-wall behaviors, their behavior is often part of a pattern. By looking for and figuring out what sort of behavior patterns might be going on, it can be helpful in our being able to solve problems and address problem behaviors. I have found that looking for patterns as a parent can help me in several ways—first, it helps me to determine whether something is becoming a problem or not. An isolated temper tantrum or some other unsavory behavior might be due to one of my children being overly-tired, temporarily stressed or coming down … Continue reading