Has your child hit their teenage years and puberty has started? Have you noticed their emotions are changing? What about their most extreme emotions? Do you find that your teenager can feel really angry at times?
In today’s episode, Janine unpacks some strategies to help you as parents support your teenager and how to develop that connection between yourself as the parent and them.
Here’s what Janine discusses in today’s episode:
OCD can manifest itself in different ways with different obsessions and focus that are going on in your life. Children’s author, Marin Canaday describes OCD feeling like a monster devouring your emotions and feelings, where you could get to the point where you feel out of control and you begin to believe the lies the OCD obsessions tell you about yourself…
A child at Elementary School will be learning and figuring out what emotions are and what’s going on in their bodies when their ‘big feelings’ appear. They’ll be learning to put names to their emotions and trying figuring out why they’re feeling what they are.
In the moments when they feel upset, overwhelmed and unable to put words to their emotions, there are some straightforward strategies we can have in our toolkit ready to use and support this age group with.
Here are some some of the strategies discussed in today’s episode:
It’s wonderful having a home set up where you have a reset or safe space where your kids can use strategies and process their emotions. But what happens when we go out? Having coping strategies ready is just as important. Whether that’s at school, traveling, out with friends, before a medical appointment or at parties knowing what you can do outside of the comfort of your own home is really helpful.
The topics I cover in this episode are:
When you’re expecting a baby or experiencing the first year of their life, there are books which tell you all the key development growth points to be looking out for and what comes next. We don’t talk about these as well as we could as our children go through childhood and adolescents. What emotions should they be feeling at what point? Is this behavior or outburst normal?
As they grow and develop, one of the questions that gets asked is, “What does a healthy brain look like?” Our brain reacts to different pathways and it can affect our mood and responses. If we can understand the brain we can understand why we teach our children different skills and functions at key life stages and certain ages. Rebecca shares how if we can understand the brain then we can understand how to support our children’s next steps and if needed support getting them back on track.
The topics we cover…
Inside: A book review of the Happy Kid Handbook by Katie Hurley. It's a wonderful addition to any parent's bookshelf!
Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t put down? That you felt compelled to underline and highlighted and put sticky notes all over? This happened to me when I started reading The Happy Kid Handbook. I got it out of the library and as soon as I started, I knew I needed to get my own copy so I could underline and highlight to my heart’s desire.
Here are a few of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much and why I find it to be an extremely valuable resource.
Inside: A Child Therapist’s favorite books for kids and teens to help them deal with stress and anxiety. Use books to start talking about healthy ways to cope.
Your daughter slumps in her chair at breakfast. Recently, it’s been like pulling teeth to get her ready for school in the morning. She hasn’t touched her toast, which is really unusual - she typically has a healthy appetite. She keeps biting her nails, and hasn’t asked for a playdate in weeks!
I’m always on the lookout for great books for kids and teens. Recently, I’ve been investigating good books to help explain and conquer anxiety. I came across the new book Anxiety Sucks! A Teen Survival Guide by Natasha Daniels and loved it!
This is a great book for teens to help them understand the underlying causes of their anxiety and work on practical steps they can take to conquer it. Here are some of my highlights:
Before I had children, I thought I would be pretty well equipped to deal with any issue that came my way. I was a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and had some experience working with some pretty challenging students.
Then I had my daughter, followed two years later by my son. And I realized just how incredibly challenging parenting is. Parenting is HARD work. It’s stressful and overwhelming. Some days you want to quit, but you can’t. And you don’t always know which way to go. It can feel lonely and you can feel like a failure.
