The Blog
Our best advice when it’s tough with kids:breathe, laugh, dance, sing, hug, call a friend. Be gentle with yourself, you’re not done growing up yet. This won’t last and you are not alone.
4 Reasons to Stop Using Time Outs
“Time outs” have been popular with parents for generations. Talking about the drawbacks of time outs is controversial. You may disagree with us; you may agree with us. But chances are you will not be neutral on this “hot” topic. Here’s a situation… The baby knocks...
3 Ways to Recharge this Summer
I don’t know about you… but during the summer, I harbor a fantasy. I dream that summer is going to be filled with long quiet days on the beach with my kids happily frolicking in the waves, fun bike rides, roller skating, and sitting peacefully under a tree reading a...
Story Massage to help a child with feelings
Have you ever gotten stuck like this… When the “oatmeal hits the fan” and you’re trying to help your child calm down, and, at the same time, you feel more and more stress rising from the pit of your stomach or a tightness in your chest? Have you found yourself...
How to Help Anxious Kids
We got this email recently asking for ideas about how to help a child with anxiety. Dear Cecilia and Jason, My 7 year old is in 1st grade. Although he was fine in kindergarten and the first half of 1st grade, something abruptly changed and he became very anxious about...
Bossy and defiant kids
We got an email recently from a parent basically asking - How do you ask a young child to do something without a struggle? Hi, Cecilia and Jason, I love the positivity of your parenting advice. I feel at a loss at how to deal with my three year old. I have resorted...
How to listen – in difficult conversations
Sometimes our children zero in on our deepest fears or concerns. Their words or behaviors or choices touch a very vulnerable part of us. Sometimes just the fact that our kids are growing up and bit by bit entering into the world can cause a parent to break out into a...
Morning Stress
We received this email recently as part of our “Ask Us Anything” Series: Dear Cecilia and Jason, My six-year-old girl has been very stressed about getting dressed in the morning. She has a lot of clothes and she choses outfits by herself. She often says she doesn't...
How to work together when there is no choice
As part of our "Ask Us Anything" series - we got this email recently: Dear Cecilia and Jason, I have a 5-year-old child who needs to take medication twice daily. It's serious, life or death medication...and she seriously doesn't want to take it. We have done pill...
5 Strategies to help a child through a big change
This was a recent email we received asking for ideas to help children handle a big move. But even if you are not moving like this family, it is likely that your child has a transition of some sort on the horizon—new school, new sibling, or summer break, etc. Even a...