Parenting Advice

Being a Role Model to Your Children

Child development expert Joyce Catlett discusses how leading our own lives to the fullest positively influences our children.

Emotional Hunger

While loving our children is healthy, dependency or “emotional hunger” toward our kids can be harmful to their development. Child development expert Joyce Catlett discusses the distinction between hunger versus love and the negative effects of over-relying on our children for our own comfort and happiness.

Self-Reflective Approach to Becoming a Better Parent

Becoming a better parent doesn’t only involve our present actions. To truly develop ourselves as parents, it is important to look at our own past . Child development expert Joyce Catlett talks about how making sense of our own childhood experiences can help us to become better parents to our children.

VIDEO: The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Parenting

In her interview with PsychAlive Senior Editor Lisa Firestone, Dr. Donna Rockwell talks about the effects of mindfulness meditation on parenting. Watch or read the interview below. Lisa Firestone: How do you think mindfulness affects people in terms of being parents or why it could be valuable to parents? Donna Rockwell: Wow. Certainly, if… Read more »

6 Things Kids Need From Adults to Feel Valued

Kids are a rather interesting group! They perceive the world entirely differently than adults do and their expectations far outweigh the typical adult’s. Their understanding of themselves in this big world makes them susceptible to a host of emotions, some good and some bad. Because children have not fully developed their persona, skills, and self-esteem,… Read more »

The Problem with Narcissistic Parents

A study by Stress in America recently revealed that Millennials (ages 18 to 33) report the highest stress levels of any generation. It’s not necessarily wrong to chalk these pressures up to increased competition in college and the workplace, an ailing economy, or a culture geared toward multitasking. But let’s consider something a little more… Read more »

7 Ways to Stop Violence at Every Age

Understanding, preventing, and effectively treating violence Seeing an image of a violent adult, it’s hard to imagine the innocent baby they once were. Is there such thing as being born violent? Are there really “bad seeds” when it comes to a human life? Like so many qualities, violence involves a real interaction between genetics and… Read more »

It’s Not Necessarily ADHD

Understanding Inattention within the Anxious Child Timmy is an 8-year-old in the 3rd grade. He has always been known to be a shy, nervous kid who prefers to keep to himself and wait for others to approach him. He favors routine, and becomes anxious about change or when he is in a new, unfamiliar situation…. Read more »

Helping Parents Distinguish Love from Emotional Hunger

The image on TIME magazine’s May cover, in which a standing woman breastfeeds her 4-year-old son as he stands on a stool beside her staring directly into the camera, has caused quite a stir. Comments have ranged from rolled eyes to accusations of abuse. The subject of the TIME article is Attachment Parenting, a style… Read more »

The Abuse of Overparenting

I recently watched my 11-year-old nephew play basketball in his local league. As I took in the scene of the freshly polished court, the paid referees, illuminated scoreboard, and live buzzers, I couldn’t help but think how grown up my nephew and his team had become. There they were independently taking coach instructions, chatting with… Read more »