Angry meltdowns and childhood go hand in hand. Kids’ natural impulsivity and lack of perspective make them prone to lashing out over apparently minor issues—particularly during early childhood. Being denied something they want, being criticized even in a constructive way, or being teased can all spark disproportionately intense fits of rage. For parents, it can be difficult to know ...
The ability to communicate well and learn verbally is strongly emphasized both at home and at school. However, useful though verbal skills are, there’s another extremely important area of learning that many experts feel we’re neglecting: Spatial skills. The term “spatial skills” is used to describe the ability to accurately interpret and remember the spatial relations between objects. ...
Discussions about returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic often revolve around helping children (and their families) stay physically healthy while participating in classroom learning. For many kids, however, the mental health implications of going back to school are equally challenging. Though some children eagerly anticipate seeing their friends again, others are experiencing profound anxiety about how their lives will ...
Modern parenting methods typically revolve around a rigid system of enforcing accountability: If a child behaves well, he (or she) is rewarded. If a child behaves badly, he is punished. In theory, this approach is logical enough; we expect our children to learn that their actions have consequences. Furthermore, we expect this knowledge to help them form a natural aversion ...
The human brain processes all sensory information whether or not you are fully aware of it. Most children are able ...
With climate change becoming an increasingly common theme in politics, news, and even entertainment, it’s no wonder more young ...
As a psychologist living and working in Toronto, where 51% of residents were born outside Canada, I deal with immigration related ...
For years, low self-esteem was used as something of a catch-all scapegoat. If a child was bullying others, failing at school, or getting into trouble, his (or her) self-esteem was the first place parents and teachers looked when trying to solve the issue. Recently, however, research has corrected some of our prior assumptions about self-esteem: In actuality, low self-esteem is ...
One of the best parts of being a parent is getting to witness how your child changes and develops. Watching your child take her first steps, say her first words, and get dressed by herself for the first time invariably evokes feelings of pride and joy. Most parents enthusiastically do their best to facilitate these changes: They hold their child’...
Social distancing has increased parenting responsibilities and limited parents’ self-care resources, creating more stress and anxiety in many households. To cope with the sudden changes in routine brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, parents must adopt new parenting strategies designed to balance their needs with the needs of their children. Parents must also learn how to step into new roles, ...
In recent years, the rise of cyber bullying has drawn attention to the many diverse forms bullying can take. At the same time, however, parents and teachers remain under-informed about many aspects of this harmful behaviour pattern. Not only does this make it more difficult to understand the trauma many children and teens endure, it limits our ability to give ...
