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Parenting

Fathers and Daughters and Moms: Is There Room for Everyone?

By Peggy Drexler, Ph.D. on May 16, 2012 in Our Gender, Ourselves

My father died of a heart attack when I was 3 years old. I went to sleep with a father, and by the time I woke, I no longer had one. My mother, in her grief, subsequently removed all traces of him. Read More

ADHD Goes to School

By Mark Bertin, M.D. on May 16, 2012 in Child Development Central

When a child has a language delay, people tend to accept this fact at face value: Joseph is 6 but speaks like a 3-year-old. While understandably upsetting to many parents, no one expects Joseph to speak differently before he is able. Read More

Icy Intimacy: A 3-Step Solution

By Mark Banschick, M.D. on May 15, 2012 in The Intelligent Divorce

Do you find your spouse controlling, but not intimate? Is she too easily angered after sex or avoids it altogether? Does he hold back while devoting all his warmth to the kids? Are you living like room mates, without the sweet softness of devoted lovers? Read More

Co-Parenting and High Conflict

By Edward Kruk, Ph.D. on May 15, 2012 in Co-Parenting After Divorce

It is often assumed, by legal and mental health professionals alike, that when divorcing parents are unable to come to an agreement in regard to parenting arrangements for their children, and remain locked in high conflict, shared parenting is contraindicated. Read More

The Dangerous Game Your Kid May Be Playing

By Susan Newman, Ph.D. on May 15, 2012 in Singletons

To children and teens The Choking Game seems harmless enough (no drugs or alcohol needed for a “high”), but it can be and has been deadly many times over. If you don’t know about The Choking Game, you need to read this... Read More

Attributes of a Mother—The Good, the Bad, and the Funny

By Melanie A. Greenberg, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in The Mindful Self-Express

Why do we, as a society love, laugh at, and love to hate mothers? Is it sexism or the power and universality of the mother archetype? Perhaps it is a bit of both. This article presents a light-hearted look at the mother role in the words of popular writers and celebrities. Read More

Eat, Pray, Invoice: Keeping Track of Who Owes What

By Dr. Jeremy Sherman on May 14, 2012 in Ambigamy

Most acts of kindness aren't random but calculated. Rewards and punishments are blends of feedback on past behavior and feedforward toward future behavior. Read More

Tolerance versus Support for Gay Adoption: Yes, It Makes a Difference

By Abbie Goldberg, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in Beyond Blood

Mitt Romney says it’s “fine” if gay people adopt, but he is certainly not asserting that gay couples are equally capable of raising a child as heterosexual couples. He has clarified his “preference” that children are raised by a mother and father in a series of recent news articles. Read More

The Myth of the Perfect Mother

By Peggy Drexler, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in Our Gender, Ourselves

What's so hard about mothering? Aside from being everything to everyone -- including the eternal fountain of love, connectedness, support, and protection -- moms function as personal shoppers, cooks, janitors, bankers, and repairmen. Read More

What if the Mother Featured on the TIME Cover Looked More Maternally Ubiquitous?

By Ugo Uche on May 14, 2012 in Promoting Empathy With Your Teen

I see parents during family therapy blush about the idea of talking to their sons and daughters about sex, even though their child is just a click away from a porn site on the smart phone, or tablet the parent purchased. Read More

From Fearless to Frightened

By Amy Przeworski, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in Don't Worry, Mom

A striking thing is happening with my toddler--she is becoming a little person with her own personality, opinions, likes, and dislikes. She is funny, sweet, thoughtful, strong-willed, and easily makes friends. But she is also starting to develop fears. How do you prevent these fears from developing into an anxiety disorder? Read More

Cyberbullying versus Traditional Bullying

By Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, M.S., L.P.C. on May 14, 2012 in Teen Angst

Just how different is traditional bullying from cyberbullying? Studies are beginning to show that the way youth bully online is a lot different from traditional schoolyard bullying. Read More

Psychopaths, Children, and Evil

By Nancy Darling, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in Thinking About Kids

Are callous, unemotional children who may grow up to be adult psychopaths born that way? Do they just need to be 'broken'? Or is there another way to think about it? Read More

Understanding Children’s Emotions: Pride and Shame

By Kenneth Barish, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in Pride and Joy

Discussions of children’s motivations and behavior too often overlook the importance of feelings of pride and shame. A child’s need to feel proud, and to avoid feelings of shame, is a fundamental motivation, and remains fundamental, throughout her life. Read More

Raising American Boys: New Book Puts Us On Notice

By Seth Meyers, Psy.D. on May 14, 2012 in Insight Is 20/20

We all know that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and attorney and bestselling author Lisa Bloom reminds us that American boys are the grease when it comes to caring for and protecting our youth. Read More

When Adolescents Are Unduly Hard on Themselves

By Carl E. Pickhardt, Ph.D. on May 14, 2012 in Surviving (Your Child's) Adolescence

What can make the adolescent passage really painful is when young people are inclined to be very hard on themselves after some frustration or disappointment with themselves. Read More

As Fewer Vaccinate Their Children, Whooping Cough Epidemic Sweeps Washington

By Dennis Rosen, M.D. on May 13, 2012 in Sleeping Angels

The New York Times reported yesterday about a recent epidemic of pertussis (whooping cough) in Washington State. Read More

Happy Single Mother's Day

By Laura Betzig, Ph.D. on May 13, 2012 in The Political Animal

Most American children were raised by two parents, once. But that’s happening less and less. By last count, more than half of all women under 30 who give birth in the US are without a spouse. Read More

Ten Ways to Truly Respect Motherhood

By Darcia Narvaez, Ph.D. on May 13, 2012 in Moral Landscapes

When my mother was having her children in the 1950s and 1960s, mothers were "knocked out" for childbirth and babies were extracted with forceps and taken away. Such disrespect of mothers, babies and motherhood! Things haven't changed that much... Read More

The Power of Mothers

By Susan R. Barry, Ph.D. on May 13, 2012 in Eyes on the Brain

One mother’s determined and successful search for a solution to her child’s school and vision problems. Read More

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