Academic Responsibility
So much of the worries and anxiety comes from the increase in pressure we are putting on our students in school, younger and younger. The competition is intense, and parents are not sure how much to be involved and how much to have a hands-off approach. The messages from schools, teachers and friends can be overwhelming. One of the primary research-based grounding principles for raising responsible, motivated and happy children is to work WITH our students rather than decide FOR our students how to be successful, organized, or earn good grades. Students need to practice, practice, practice making many mistakes along the way in order to learn how to manage school and feel like they have ownership over their success. Do not steal this from them.
Mindful Parenting
After 10 years of working with parenting groups I discovered Mindfulness. Now it is a part of my work with parents. The ability to pay attention, on purpose, moment to moment, nonjudgmentally. Our children need us to be aware of our emotions and their emotions, so we can choose to respond rather than react to our children’s behavior. Awareness is powerful and it is one of the most important things we can practice and pass on to our children. My work with children and parents infuses mindful awareness throughout all my interactions.
Managing Anxiety
As a school counselor for 24 years in West Hartford, the overwhelming mental health issue that has increased dramatically is the struggle students are having with anxiety. The growing concern is so significant that I completed a 10-week course on anxiety and earned a certification to treat clinical anxiety. My goal is to help families understand worry and anxiety, how to cope with anxiety, and prevent untreated anxiety from becoming depression. We know more about anxiety and how to manage it than any other mental health issue. Thank goodness we do. Anxiety is very manageable.