I grew up in the country, in a house without central heat and air. We had a furnace in the basement and every Saturday in the winter, my two siblings and I would load up in my dad’s Ford F150 and drive down to the woods behind our house. He would cut down a tree […]
Beat, beat, thump. Beat, beat, thump. Those were the sounds pounding in my head as I waited for my plane to take off. I had always loved to fly. The thought of boarding a plane made me feel energized. For years, I had happily walked through terminals and stood in customs lines eagerly awaiting my […]
I’m excited to announce my newest product to help children manage emotions! The poster takes children through the same emotion regulation steps I use in my office: Whether you’re five or eight-five, the steps are the same. The poster is $18, 18″x 25″, laminated and ready for years of use. I recommend it for classrooms, […]
Nearly two years ago, I gave a talk where I emphasized the importance of using feeling cards with children. I shared that it helps children open up about emotions and at the end of the talk, shared my favorite feeling cards and told everyone to go buy a set. The next day, I received an […]
Earlier this year, I released Flooded: A Brain-Based Guide to Help Children Manage Emotions. The book was for parents, educators and caregivers and just after releasing it, the message I heard from readers was clear: we need a book like this for kids. I’d been sharing this information with kids in my office for many […]
1 in 6 children meet the criteria for a mental health disorder. By adulthood that number will double. In 2019, the World Happiness Organization reported the United States was the least happy it has ever been. One of the reporters said, “By most accounts, Americans should be happier now than ever. The violent crime rate […]
The first line of my new children’s book, Marcy’s Having All the Feels is, “Marcy wanted to be happy. Happy is all she wanted to be.” I would guess that most of us feel very similar Marcy. We want to feel happy, confident and excited and when we don’t, we rush to change our situation […]
After one of the coldest winters in history, kids are throwing on shorts, running out of the house and sucking up every last minute of daylight. And after months of being cooped up, they are feeling the freedom of being able to get out their energy. This is something all kids need to do, but […]
Long are the days when going to a counselor was seen as odd or abnormal. Nowadays kids talk about their therapists at the lunch table and as a kid that I see said recently, “You know a girl in my class. You’re her therapist too!” When I asked how she knew this she simply said, […]
I have been at book signings all week and have found that the parents walking up to my table are just as worried as their child. Am I doing something wrong? I’m not putting pressure on my child but she still thinks she has to have an A. When he gets worried, I get worried. […]
