As I was driving my four-year-old son to a friend's birthday party, a truck, stopped at the traffic light in front of us, had a four-wheeler in its bed with a newly-shot deer flopped over the seat and roped down to keep its carcass from sliding off. Immediately after taking in the lifeless body of the deer, my son became ...
Helping your child to build healthy self-esteem is one of the most important objectives for parents. Self-esteem is the core of a healthy personality; kids with a strong sense of self-esteem tend to be more resistant to peer pressure and they are better able to deal with challenges and handle responsibility. They manage their emotions more effectively and have lower ...
In recent years, mindfulness has risen to prominence as something of a psychological panacea. Current research tells us that mindfulness exercises can reduce the symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and even physical suffering. Mindfulness can also help people with learning disabilities and developmental disorders combat the negative effects of their conditions. What’s more, even those who are not struggling ...
Having a sense of fairness is a great virtue and a sign that your child has a strong moral compass. Sometimes, however, kids become obsessed with fairness to an unrealistic degree. Toddlers, gifted children, and children with ADHD are especially prone to this kind of behaviour. When left unchecked, a deep preoccupation with fairness can lead to excessive tantrums, arguments ...
Though the human brain is incredibly complex, until recent years, the popular perception of intelligence was strikingly simple—and antiquated. Indeed, both standard IQ tests and SAT tests are still based largely on the work of Alfred Binet, a French psychologist who developed the first “intelligence test” in the year 1900. Though Binet’s work was useful during its time, modern ...
Many of the most rewarding things in life come with their fair share of challenges, and relationships are no different. Every couple experiences ups and downs, whether they’re driven by adverse events, differing values, or periods of poor communication. However, it can be difficult to put these challenges into perspective and assess the overall health of a relationship: How ...
Parenting a gifted child is a delicate balance: You know your child has incredible potential, so naturally, you want to see her live up to it. At the same time, however, you’re probably aware that gifted children are highly sensitive and tend to be hard on themselves… Meaning that parental enthusiasm and guidance can easily feel like crushing pressure ...
Middle school is generally believed to be the most troubling transitional period in a child’s life. The abrupt change of moving from one school to another is followed by hormonal shifts, social upheaval, and a sudden driving need for independence that often causes stress at home. It is within this maelstrom that young people must begin to find their ...
As a psychologist living and working in Toronto, where 51% of residents were born outside Canada, I deal with immigration related ...
Sometimes classroom behavior problems signal giftedness. Brad and Karen were at their wits end. Their grade school children once again ...
Autism has been in the spotlight for many years. In movies, television, and novels, autistic characters are portrayed to have ...
