Many times we see children who struggled to attach to the parents or caregivers in their lives at an early age. For these children they have missed some important aspects of key development and relationships. There are four basic characteristics that basically give us a clear view of what attachment...
Health Advisory on Social Media Use in Adolescents
As I have written in the past, we acknowledge that social media has had an increasing impact on our teenagers. It is used for connection, advertising, even for self-image and also bullying. The American Psychological Association has just published on their website the downloadable results of some of the most...
How Personal Power can Positively Affect Teenagers
As our staff mentor students who are struggling with life situations, one of the goals is to help them understand the importance of personal power. As teenagers emerge into adulthood one of the developmental tasks is to become independent. It may seem like an obvious reality but often students feel...
Can Screen Time Be Beneficial for Kids?
For those of us who are caregivers for kids, it has been a significant issue as to how much screen time is healthy. Screen time can be addicting. Social media often creates difficult messaging that can leave students in significant crisis. Other messaging can also have major influence in the...
Special Rules for Teenagers?
Many of us enjoy eating at Chick-fil-A restaurants. I’ve always appreciated the environment and the service-oriented staff that clearly are trained to be courteous to their clients. I think this is evident when we see vehicles backed up at a neighborhood Chick-fil-A during meal times to get their food and...
Does Your Child Have an Eating Disorder?
One of the common issues among teens is their struggle with food and eating. This can be extremely frustrating for parents and caregivers to watch a child fluctuate in their food intake, weight loss or gain and the intensity of this type of disorder. It is helpful to know what...
Helping Your Teen Deal with Anxiety
One of the by-products of COVID-19 has been a significant increase in anxiety in our children and teenagers. In fact it has also had impact to adults and to those who teach and work with children and teens. With Lakeside providing counseling and education to 4,000 teens per year we...
The Neuroscientific Link Between Parents and Children
Research is very clear that childhood adversity has a significant effect on the mental health of adults. Caring for children early in life should be one of our most important priorities as parents and educators. Of course, the primary caregivers of children at early ages are parents. It is logical...
Is Your Child Being Bullied?
Bullying is one of the most difficult experiences children can face at their school or in social gatherings. It is more than difficult for parents and caregivers to assess how serious the bullying situation is and how that may affect their child. Yet we hear of so many bullying stories...
Helping Your Anxious Child
As you may well know, many of our children are experiencing significant anxiety in school which is showing up in our homes. It can be disconcerting to be with an anxious child. It is hard for parents to sense that and then have clarity as to what to do to...