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Worried your child will act out in public, so you give them a screen to focus on? Sounds like a good blog topic! Personally, my children have outgrown the days of throwing tantrums, or food, in a restaurant, but I can defiantly remember the mixture of emotions these instances evoked! I still dislike grocery shopping, but these days it is refreshing to have a teen shopper helping me as opposed to the days I had to remind them before entering the store that "if I have to war

As summer is nearing an end, you may be busy with back-to-school shopping and fitting in beach trips, but on the back of your mind you may also be thinking about some tough conversations you want to have before school starts. You may want to talk to your child about peer pressure. Below, I will give you an example of how to start this conversation. We have all seen cringy after school specials that depict peer pressure in a way that almost none of us can relate to. Those s

Raising children in a two-parent loving home is hard. However, raising children on your own with a co-parent who you can no longer stand to look in the eye can be soul crushing. As a child therapist, I can honestly say that some of the hardest cases I have ever dealt with are children from split homes, where they have parents who can’t stand one another. These poor children are bathed in anxiety. They can’t escape from their parents’ misery and fears. Their world feels unst

"Life is not always fair,” a message my father told me almost every day of my childhood. What a gift he gave me! I have always struggled with the concept of fairness or things being just. My mom loves to tell the story of a young Megan crying at the dinner table because children were dying of AIDS. She asked me if I knew what AIDS was, which of course I did not, I just knew it was not fair! At my core I believe all people deserve to be healthy, have their basic needs met,

When meeting a child in my office for the first time, I ask a parent or guardian to be present. I do this for many reasons, such as making sure the child is comfortable, I want to see how the child and caregiver interact, I like to ask questions about the child’s birth and history, I want them both to understand what therapy is, and for them to get a feel for me as a practitioner, etc. I ask them both many things but the question that usually provides me with the most insigh

Is your child headed to middle school next year? If so, this is an exciting time in their lives! It also begins a transition phase from childhood to adolescence. This means it is a great time to have some tough conversations about what is to come. For many, elementary school is a place where kids can be kids. Bullying is not tolerated. Teachers work hard to help students work through their differences as well as preserve innocence. In middle school things start to change. C

As a parent you want to teach your child to behave appropriately, even when upset. So, what happens when you the parent acts out of control when you get upset? When talking with friends about what it means to be an adult, you may hear many different answers. An answer I would hope you will hear is that adults have a higher level of emotional maturity and can admit when they make mistakes. So, what happens when a parent struggles to control their emotions and make the mistake

Tough Truth: All parents do things that harm their children in some ways. However, good parents do their best to try to minimize the damage and recognize their shortcomings! Avoiding or dodging tough topics with your child is one of the ways we can actually cause harm, all while doing so with the wonderful intentions of doing the opposite. When we doge or tell our children they are too young to know something, we are instilling some anxiety and self-doubt. We are telling

A common question parents ask is “when will I know when my child is ready to discuss this tough topic?” In this blog I will help answer this question while looking at a couple of tough topics that are likely to come up in your home. One way you will know it is time is when your child starts asking questions. For example, if they ask where babies come from, they are ready for some information. They may know a little about the subject already. However, what information they “

It’s a good thing that we don’t have to be perfect parents to be considered GREAT parents! If you have been following my YouTube channel you already know that I start my videos by saying “hello my fellow humans!” I do this as a regular reminder that we are all on this life journey together! I have literally spent thousands of face-to-face hours with parents and children listening and guiding. I have testified in court as an expert witness multiple times. I have a master's

Be ready for tough conversations at unexpected moments! While I often promote setting times aside for big topics, parents need to be ready at any given moment to answer their child’s tough questions. If you are reading this blog, it is because you like the idea of being prepared. So how do you prepare for something that unexpected? Well, I recommend practicing or establishing in your mind what you would like to say when your child catches you off guard. This may sound sil

We have all hear d the expression “It takes a village” meaning a community of people all take part in helping raise our children. Our children are encouraged in different ways by their teachers, neighbors, family friends, and countless other adults who want to see our children thrive. My hope is that you as a parent are reaching out to your village. Saying that being a parent is hard is a huge understatement! I will never forget when a friend of mine who is very successful c

Ever freeze when your child brings up a tough subject? Of course you have! Let me share some personal moments in my parenting life where I froze. That one time when my kindergartener came home from school asking what sex was or when my middle schooler asked me how to deal with another child who was calling them names that I don’t even want to type! It is perfectly normal to freeze. It’s normal not to know what to say. It’s normal to have emotions of anger or panic. Your c

Tough conversations are opportunities to help your child navigate life challenges. There are 3 things that I encourage parents to keep in mind before having these conversations: Avoidance is not an option. This conversation needs to happen. Come back to this point when you feel like giving up. If you tend to avoid tough conversations, you are teaching your child to do the same thing. Practice saying the things you want to say to your child. When the time comes, it is impo

There is one-word parents love to use often. One word that is well intended. One word that seeks to find meaning but rarely does! One word that I challenge parents to use as sparingly as possible. What is the word? WHY! When a parent is asking a child this question, it is usually because the child has just made a mistake or a bad choice. The child is already in a state of mind which makes it hard to think clearly so when they hear the words “why did you do that” t

Wait....... Have you had the thought, if these are children’s books, why am I posting information for parents? That is because in my experience as a therapist, it is the parents who are uncomfortable having tough conversations, not their children. Children are curious. They are often content with simple explanations and are able to see positives in bleak situations. Due to their limited experiences, they lack the ability to see how this information may impact them, which hel

My first children’s book explains the concept of death in a very simplistic way. It’s a rhyming book featuring Little Moose and Momma Goose. Little Moose hears about death at school which prompts questions for his mother when he gets home. Mother Goose models how to handle tough conversations with children throughout the book. She stays calm, lets him play, offers comfort, answers his questions, and does not tell him what to feel. This book is for all children with no min

The attention-grabbing title of my second book is The Penis Pop-Up Book. It was written for a child audience but will intrigue readers of all ages. Many parents want to educate their children on their changing bodies but lack confidence in how to approach the subject. Many young boys have questions about their penis but often feel like it is taboo to bring them up. These common dilemmas are exactly why this book was written. It helps to normalize the experience of having a pe

As a children’s author and mental health therapist, I plan to write many more books explaining tough concepts to children. As adults, we want to protect children and may choose to shelter them from topics that seem too mature. However, mature things happen to children. Very scary or traumatic things happen to children’s families. Children need to share their stories and hear that they are not the only ones who have experienced whatever type of pain they have been through.