8 mins read

10 Ways To Help Your Child Become A Better Writer

If your kids are like mine, they don’t take well to their parents giving them advice on much of anything — academics, athletics, you name it. In many ways, I am thankful for this. My kids are independent and have learned to do their homework on their own.But I had to step in recently to help my middle-schooler with a term paper that needed a lot of help. I started with my red pen …

4 mins read

Pets and Lowering Kids’ Stress

Finally, a parenting topic my own kids will agree I know something about: kids and pets. I live with three children, four cats, and one dog. I’m a lifelong animal lover myself. But the real reason my household includes so many pets: they’re essential to good parenting. There are few moments more validating in the…

3 mins read

OCD Treatment for Children

The behaviors associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder can seem strange to people who don’t have it. You might wonder, for example, why your child washes her hands repeatedly, even when they are clean, why your child must count to 10 every time she enters a certain room or why she checks to make sure she closed her door over and over again. People with OCD have an anxiety disorder that manifests itself in thoughts they can’t get rid of. These thoughts lead the OCD sufferer to have strong urges to engage in rituals to banish or ward off the thoughts. The problem with these thoughts and rituals is that they interfere with daily life. Children as young as 5 can have OCD, but the good news is that advances in treatment are being made all the time.