Teen Anxiety Linked to Parent-Infant Relationship

Parents want the very best for their baby. They put a great deal of effort into understanding what their baby needs and making sure that he or she gets it. Things change a bit when a child turns into a teenager and becomes difficult. Now, many parents are bewildered by the behaviors they see in their teen. When did the teenager become so nervous? It turns out that the quality of the parent-infant relationship is linked to teen anxiety. A study was done that involved 165 European-American children. These kids were from middle to upper-middle-class families. Each child was recruited … Continue reading

Separation Anxiety

My ex is really good about having our son call and tell me goodnight when it’s his turn to have him every other weekend. He knows of the strong bond my son and I have and also knows that we will both sleep better if we have had a chance to tell each other goodnight first. It’s usually a short call. We talk about the things he did that day; we talk about what he ate for dinner; we talk about how fun it will be to sleep over at Dad’s house that night; but most of all this talk … Continue reading

Back to School Anxiety & Emotions

Do a Google search on this topic and you’re likely to come across a ton of news stories, blogs, opinions, etc. I thought I better throw my hat into the ring, so my readers would not be left out. The person quoted the most on these various sites is Samuel Gladding, who is a professor at Wake Forest University. He offers 6 tips for helping with back to school anxiety and is summarized by Bradenton.com. The fact that these articles keep popping up on my alerts daily was funny to me, as I think I have more anxiety than my … Continue reading

Separation Anxiety at Four?

It was the fall of my daughter’s second preschool year. We were all set. We knew what we were doing. We knew the teachers and we loved them too. Aside from some small initial anxiety, at three years old my daughter had sailed into the classroom with excitement, happy to be playing with other children and joyful to see her beloved teacher. It was all good, simply the beginning of another school year. And yet it was not. For three months at the beginning of her second year of preschool, my daughter did not want to go. She loved her … Continue reading

An Impractical Solution for Separation Anxiety

If you’re a regular reader of the Families.com Pets Blog, you may have noticed that my dog Lally has a bit of a nervous personality. Sometimes, her separation anxiety causes me distress — when I get ready to leave for work, she’ll sit and shake, which makes me feel really bad about having to go out. Both Lally and my other dog, Moose, were really happy when we lived in New Jersey. Not only for the fenced-in yard (though we all loved that feature), but also because my grandmother was good company. She couldn’t drive, so she was almost always … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for July 21-27

What did Aimee and I write about during the last full week of July? In case you’re wondering because summer vacation plans kept you away from the computer, here’s the Week in Review recap. Monday, July 21 Just how much does your pet influence your lifestyle? Do you even know? Or are you well aware of their impact? Because of Aimee’s experiences with her own dogs, she learned about inflammatory bowel disease in pets and passed her knowledge on to us. Tuesday, July 22 I explained why I am absolutely loving “The Greatest American Dog!” Apparently Aimee’s become the crazy … Continue reading

Lally’s Separation Anxiety

My poor little girl dog. Lally is my “Velcro dog” — she’s the one who’s usually at my side. When I’m home, she’s almost always in the room with me. (I’m doing my writing in my office today, and she’s in her spot between the desk and the wall. Meanwhile, Moose is out in the living room, watching the world through the patio door.) My fuzzy baby girl got quite spoiled when we lived with my grandmother — someone was almost always home. It was rare that both my grandmother and I were out of the house for too long. … Continue reading

Marriage Blogger Desperately Seeking Solace

Over in Pets I wrote about how Murphy met the paramedics yesterday when my mom suffered a stroke during breakfast and I had to call 911. I spent all morning in the ER until they admitted my mom to the hospital, and then I stuck around until they got her situated in a room. Except for when I left for two hours from 4:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to finally get some food (I hadn’t eaten all day) and to feed the fur kids and walk Murph, I was in the hospital from nine to nine. Wayne didn’t have time … Continue reading

The Anxiety of Growing Up

It can be tempting to think of childhood and the growing up years as being one nonstop romp for our kids. It can also be tempting to imagine that the parent is the one who is anxious and stressed and sad to see that little one grow into adult. The fact is, however, that growing up can be anxiety-producing for kids too. I know firsthand that during some of those major developmental leaps and, especially now that my kids are on the eve of adulthood, there can be a great deal of emotion and anxiety on their part associated with … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Oct 15-21

October’s speeding along at a frightfully fast pace. Before you know it Halloween will be here. If you’re having a heck of a time keeping up on everything, including the Pets Blog, let me be of some assistance with this week’s Week in Review. Here’s what Aimee and I covered on: Monday, October 15 Aimee’s been doing a good job covering all things fish this month. Today’s installment was More Common Freshwater Diseases. I reported on the dog days festival that Murph, Wayne, and I went to. Tuesday, October 16 Aimee explained that cloudy aquarium water is not normal and … Continue reading