parenting tips Archive

I feel that one of my most important tasks as a play therapist (and a mom) is to help children understand, cope with, and express their feelings.  In my 13 years of working therapeutically with children I have come across a

My troubles with worry and anxiety started early in life.  I would worry about everything … especially at bedtime.  One of the ways my wonderful mom helped me cope was by getting me a set of “worry dolls” (like these).  They

To those that lost loved ones on this day, September 11 … eleven years ago … my heart and thoughts go out to you.  May you continue to find support and love through your lifelong process of grief. Grief and loss

It’s that time of year again!  BACK TO SCHOOL!!!  Here are some of my favorite back to school books that I read with my own kids and recommend to clients (especially if they are starting school for the first time or

Since the Summer Virtual Book Club for Kids is featuring Kevin Henkes this month, I though it would be a great time to review his books that can be extremely useful in therapy with kids.   (He has A LOT that

I’ve received lots of requests to blog about potty training … but it’s taken me a really long time to sit down and write this post.  The road of potty training my son (now 6) has been long and bumpy …

Have you heard about BabbaCo?  Have you received a BabbaBox yet?  Well, this month we got our FIRST BabbaBox!  And I can’t wait to tell you all about it!  I’m also excited to say that BabbaCo and PlayDrMom have formed a

Let me start out by reminding you about my 3 year old daughter, Honor.  She’s the one always wearing the princess clothes … The one that had a Princess Birthday Party … She has no doubt that she IS a princess.

One of the most important social skills is the ability recognize, distinguish and label one’s own emotions and the emotions of others.  A great way to help develop this skill is to begin reading books that describe and picture feelings to

As a parent and a child psychologist I firmly believe in focusing on reinforcing positive behaviors … as opposed to punishing negative ones.  This stems from my knowledge of what behaviorists have studied about human behavior … AND my first hand experience

When we take vacations, we usually take road trips.  Whether it is a couple of hours up north or 20 hours to visit my husband’s family in Louisiana … we take the car.  I always pack a bag or basket filled

If you read Monday’s post (So Many Ways to Play with Playdough) or Tuesday’s post (Playdough in Play Therapy) you might have noticed that we took the Playdough Pledge this week. It’s an online playdate hosted by Nurturestore, The Imagination Tree, and Sun Hats