How to Survive College Admission Stress

Posted on March 20, 2012 in Worry Wise

It's that time of year, the daffodils are blooming, the lilacs and cherry trees are preparing to bud, and families with high school seniors are trying hard to not lose their minds. Does the college admission process have to be like this? Here are some ideas for keeping your cool (and helping your child do the same) until all decisions are in.

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Surviving College Rejection Letters: It Can Be Done

Posted on March 29, 2012 in Worry Wise

Following up on my recent blog post on handling college admission stress, in this post, I get right down to the tough, but necessary business of handling rejection. No one likes it, but given the sharp increase in the number of college applications, and the fact that most, especially the elite, highly competitive schools, have not increased their class size, it's a statistical fact of life: rejection letters will happen. But it's what happens after the rejection that matters most. Here are tips for parents and students to stay on track and not get derailed by misinterpreting the meaning when a college says no.

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It's National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week

Posted on May 10, 2012 in Worry Wise

It's National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week. Let's all keep an eye out for the good of our children. They are our future.

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A Back to School Twitter Chat with The Mother Company

Posted on August 22, 2012 in Worry Wise

Please join me this Friday August 24th at 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern to get your back to school questions answered when I chat with The Mother Company on Twitter #MOCOChat

Hope to see you there!

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Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking: Help for the Pint-Sized Pessimist

Posted on September 25, 2012 in Worry Wise

I can't do anything right! Everything is wrong! I'm so stupid! What's the point? Such is the inner monologue (and sometimes outer outburst) that children suffering with negative thinking can have on a regular basis. The trigger is often something as small as dropping a pencil, or making a mistake on a test. How do we help kids think less negatively and more accurately (and not get pulled into the downward spiral ourselves?) Here are some answers!

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Being an Effective Parent: Managing Your Own Feelings

Posted on September 25, 2012 in Worry Wise

Try as we may to be the best parents we can be and not overreact or underreact to our children's behavior and emotions, we are human and sometimes things don't come out exactly (or even nearly) as we'd like. Here are some ideas about how to take care of our own emotions so we can be there for our kids.

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Managing Tics and Tourette's: Catch What You Can

Posted on September 25, 2012 in Worry Wise

In this blogpost we take a closer look at the experiences of kids who have repetitive, involuntary actions otherwise known as "tics." Many of the children who have anxiety or symptoms of OCD also experiences tics. In fact, studies have found that as many as 50-85% of children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) also meet criteria for OCD. Common tics include eye-blinking, facial grimacing, nose scrunching, touching and clapping. Vocal tics include humming, throat clearing and squeaking. Let's take a look at the experience of tics: the causes, red-flags and solutions.

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High Family Stress in Infancy Linked with Development of Anxiety in Teen Girls

Posted on November 12, 2012 in Worry Wise

A long-term study out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that children who grew up in high stress families are more likely to develop anxiety disorders in the teenage years-- this connection was only evident with girls, not with boys. This study highlights the need to support young parents and families.  To read about this on Psych Central, click here.

 

 

 

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How to Mange College Admissions Stress

Posted on March 6, 2013 in Worry Wise

K. Sawyer Photography / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

No one is immune from the stress of the college admissions process-- one that for some kids (and parents) feels like it really started somehow back in elementary school. Is your child's future dependent on what comes in the mail? Is there really life beyond the thin envelope? At the moment of impact, the answer is no. But after the brief flatline, when it feels like the horizon of your child's future has dropped out of sight for both you and your child, there is a resounding -- yes. In this article, parents and teachers can learn how to help kids to put this moment in perspective and see that no matter what happens come April 15th, they have their whole life ahead of them. Click here to read this article on Huffington Post.

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Surviving College Rejection Letters: What To Do When A School Says No

Posted on March 12, 2013 in Worry Wise

Mouse / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

 

Following up on my recent blog post on handling college admission stress, Here is a piece I wrote last year about college rejection letters. So many parents wrote in after I published it telling me how grateful they were to have some guidance on this topic, because they were really struggling too. It's a statistical fact of life: rejection letters will happen. But it's what happens after the rejection that matters most. Here are tips for parents and students to stay on track and not get derailed by misinterpreting the meaning when a college says no.

 

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