Shout out to all of you parents out there! Seriously, parenting is hard. Sometimes really hard. Some kids are more challenging than others, yet you guys keep moving forward, doing the best you can. That’s awesome. BUT many of us are failing our kids. “Wait, what? How can you praise us and then turn around and say we’re failing?” Well, for the most part, you are doing great. You are loving your children ferociously. You are teaching them that they matter. Their feelings matter

Children are little humans who experience the whole gambit of emotions. You’ve heard the squeals of delight, seen the tears of sadness and the throws of frustration. When your son bites his hand or when your 13-year-old has a screaming fit that started because you looked at her, what is really going on? Is it that she’s mad or can she just not communicate the feeling with you? Children often don’t have the words to tell you what they are feeling, so parents are left interpret

Many parents call me or ask during a child’s (or teen’s) counseling session, “What is wrong with my sweet baby?” Well, if you ask your child, it’s probably that you still refer to him or her as your baby…But in reality, your sweet child is still in there, tucked away in a compartment in the brain getting upgraded. When our children reach the age of about 12, their brain does some dramatic upgrading…think an extensive overhaul. It’s not a secret; adults think their adolescents