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Showing posts from May, 2013

Parents Beware: 10 Stupid Things Your Kid Might Try Over Summer Break

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By: Christine Hammond, LMHC Just compiling this list of stupid things your kid might do over summer break was enough to drive me, as a parent, into a massive anxiety attack.  After all, summer break should be about camps, swimming, going to the beach, parks, and hanging out with friends.  Unfortunately the combination of unsupervised kids, the internet and time to burn can be a deadly one. After the shock of my anxiety attack died down, this list is meant to get your attention, as a parent, and perhaps to wake you up to the possibilities of immature behavior that goes way beyond the fears of social media, bullying, internet pornography, and gambling.  Unfortunately each of these items is very easy to research on the internet and some even have YouTube videos explaining how it works.  Choking Game, Pass-Out Game, Fainting Game, Space Monkey.   This is self-administered or friend-administered - choking to the point of losing consciousness in order to achieving a high. 

There Ain't No Cure for the Summertime Blues? Nonsense!

  4 Ways to Survive (and Thrive) During the Kids’ Summer Break   By Laura Hull, LMFT  Coping Coach   As the mother of six children, (4 boys, two girls) ranging in age from 19-5, I frequently hear the bewildered comments of dumbfounded others who look at me like I have three heads when I mention that I have six children.   I always look forward to summer break with my kids, and experience a short period of mourning when the school year resumes in August.   If I had a dollar for every time someone has said to me over the years, “you must dread the summer break when all the kids are home at once,” I would have the money to write this blog from the sunny beaches on the south of France.   I love having my kids home for summer break.   However, there are reasons why it works.    Chaos is not allowed to reign and boredom is not allowed.    Not every minute of summer break needs to be structured, but time should not be wasted , either.   Here are some suggestions that hav

Community Crisis Recovery Guide

Strategies to rebuild you and your kids after a tragedy By Dwight Bain A community crisis, (like a mass shooting or natural disaster ), can destroy entire communities in just a few minutes, while the recovery process to rebuild from a major critical incident may take weeks or months to sort through. The more you know about how to survive and rebuild after the crisis, the faster you can take positive action to get your personal and professional life back on track. Since community crisis events like extreme acts of violence or terrorism are unpredictable it requires a different course of action from natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and floods. What can you do right now to cope with the psychological impact of a major community crisis?  Dealing directly with your emotions will reduce the tension and stress on you, which allows you to have more energy to deal with a difficult situation. However, if you stuff your fears an

Helping Kids deal with the Stress of Natural Disasters

By Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor & Certified Life Coach Monster storms like Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Floods, Blizzards, Forest Fires or Mud Slides destroy more than communities- they destroy emotional security and stability in the lives of everyone impacted by these critical incidents, especially children. Equipping parents and teachers with response techniques is essential so they can make a positive difference during the rebuilding process. Here are some key elements to know in serving children who have been emotionally traumatized by natural disasters. How are children affected? It depends on the age of the child. The younger the child, the more they look to their parents for emotional security and strength. If a parent is “shell-shocked" or psychologically “numb” and not able to manage their own emotions or responsibilities; the child feels even more pressure and becomes more confused and stressed. Remember, it's normal to be ov

4 Things You Can do Right Now to Combat Mild Depression

  Laura Hull, LMFT Coping Coach   “Once we truly know that life is difficult — once we truly understand and accept it — then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.” -'The Road Less Traveled” ― M. Scott Peck   This statement by M. Scott Peck is profound.   But for many, this statement is hard to internalize.   Life is difficult, and with difficulty can come uncertainty and at times, sadness.   Everyone experiences sadness, grief or depression at some point.   Assuming we live long enough, life throws things in our direction that can, at the very least, wound us enough to cause pain that makes it difficult to experience joy.   At other times, the trials of life can bring us to our knees, making it a herculean task to even get out of bed or go any length of time without crying our eyes out.   Life happens to everyone.   We lose loved ones to death, we experience the loss of relationships for