Therapy Greatest Hits #1: The First Thing I Tell Every Parent to Do – Easy Strategies to Enhance Quality Time
Release Date: 04/06/2023
Counting Kindness Helps Your Child’s Mental Health
Active & Connected Families
We all know there is a mental health crisis out there. We have real numbers that highlight for kids, teenagers, people of color, men, working mothers. The numbers tell the story. The percentages, increases, and statistical significance are all important. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by data, as are our children. Their GPA’s, instagram likes, rebounds, SAT Scores, tardies, goals, and more, are all measured and highlighted. “What is measured gets done.” The data tells the story. Numbers are concrete, clear, and feel important. Yet we don’t keep data on what actually counts...
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Spreading Holiday Cheer for All of Your Community to Hear
Active & Connected Families
The holiday season is in full swing and for many of us, it all just looks and feels different than when we were kids. Over 40 million Americans have stopped going to church in the last 25 years, meaning that communal Sundays and structured lessons in forgiveness and giving aren’t as consistent anymore for us and our children. Although many Americans have found other communal organizations to replace church, a lot also haven’t. The longing for community and organized religion that so many of us feel right now shows us the sense of tradition, love, and belonging that we’re...
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Gaining Clarity in a Confusing World With Damon Eddy
Active & Connected Families
Gaining clarity on who we want to be as a person and as a parent feels hard in the confusing world we live in. Do we want to be the parent who’s on their phone all the time or the parent who takes time for connection and does things that make us feel good? The answer is probably a no-brainer but how do we actually live up to this? Today’s guest on the podcast is Damon Eddy, a transformation coach specializing in helping people move from confusion to clarity and he’s here to share his insights with us! In this episode on gaining clarity in a confusing world, we discuss: How our...
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Homework Issues Make Relationship Issues: Strategies to Help With Homework With Lara Dawn
Active & Connected Families
We’re about a month into being back to school and here’s the issue that’s been coming up for me: homework. I was a bit hesitant on releasing an episode on this topic because to be fair, it sounds boring. But I know I’m not the only one struggling with this right now! And luckily, my incredible guest, Lara Dawn, certified teacher and founder of The ADHD Village, knows just how to turn this topic into an interesting conversation! In this episode on homework issues, we cover: The brain chemicals that play a role in making homework (especially for ADHD kids); How do we figure out what’s...
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Start the School Year With Presence With Dr. Leah Katz
Active & Connected Families
As high-achieving moms, we’re living hectic lives, reachting to every trigger, thought, text message and notification. How can we be more intentional about our lives as parents going into the new school year? If your first thought is, "I don't have time for that", I completely get it! There's so much pressure on us high-achieving women. But here are the facts: We see a mental health crisis among our children and a burnout crisis among women. If we continue to go with the norms, this is what we're choosing. It’s a path we don’t want to take. So what can we do differently? Dr. Leah Katz,...
info_outline![[REWIND] Emotional Support Through College Applications With Margaret Baudinet show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/item/27679824?height=50&width=50)
[REWIND] Emotional Support Through College Applications With Margaret Baudinet
Active & Connected Families
If your kid might apply for college in the next ten years, you want to listen to this one! Margaret is an expert when it comes to supporting kids through the college application process. She has a particularly valuable perspective on how teenagers experience this crazy time and how parents can support them and today she’s sharing her knowledge with us! In today’s episode on supporting your teen through college, we discuss: Why not to rewrite your kid’s college application essay; The three parts of finding a good-fit college; Trusting your kid to go through this process themselves; The...
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Improving Your Kid’s Mental Health: Easy Family Therapy Hacks
Active & Connected Families
Do you ever wonder why your kids are fighting more than usual? Or do you worry about spending way more time with one kid over another? With all the families I work with, and similarly in my own family, I notice patterns that can lead to difficulties. That’s why today I’m sharing with you some easy family therapy hacks that are going to help with some of the most typical problems families are encountering and that can improve your kid’s mental health! In this episode on improving your kid’s mental health, we discuss: Examples of healthy family hierarchies; Two examples of common...
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Allowing Our Kids to Pursue Their Dreams & More Parenting Advice From Waki Wynn
Active & Connected Families
Allowing our kids to choose their own path in life and pursue their dreams is a big topic in today’s episode. How would you react if your child tells you they want to become a professional gamer?! That’s exactly what one of Waki's kids chose as his own plan A, and with Waki’s support, that’s exactly what he has achieved. I'm so excited to share the rest of my conversation with Waki Wynn with you about all things parenting. He’s back with some golden nuggets from his own experiences raising his own kids and coaching many more. In this episode on allowing our kids to pursue their...
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Darn Good Parenting Advice From Waki Wynn - Part 1
Active & Connected Families
Today, we released one of those episodes that is full of knowledge gems and truth bombs for ALL parents out there. My conversation with Waki Wynn, in which he shares his invaluable insights into parenting, is truly one of my favorite conversations ever. We talk about finding your community as a parent, helping our high school boys develop lifelong friendships that will serve them for the rest of their lives, allowing our kids to eventually have their own family that’s healthy and can move through sadness, grief and trauma together, and so much more! This episode with Waki is so fully packed...
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How Our Pets Promote Social and Emotional Growth With Christine Bowers, LMFT
Active & Connected Families
We all know that animals can have a profound impact on people’s lives. But did you know pets can even promote social and emotional growth in our kids? Children use being with their pets as a very consistent coping skill and as a way to manage their emotions. As a parent, I started to wonder how and why this happens and how I can maximize the opportunities our pets bring into our homes. Today, we have Christine Bowers on the show who is an expert when it comes to animal-assisted therapy. We’ll be talking about how to promote social and emotional development through our pets. Have a listen...
info_outlineToday, we’re starting our mini-series on the greatest therapy hits with the #1 thing I talk to parents about, no matter what their reason for coming into my office. Whether it’s because their kid is having meltdowns, is feeling depressed, worries a lot, has difficulty following directions, … The very first thing I talk to the parents about is increasing the quality and frequency of the time we spend with our kids, i.e. strategies to enhance quality time.
How do we as busy parents, with lots of demands and frequently raising multiple kids get the most bang for our buck when we’re with them?
The idea is to find something you can do EVERY DAY to truly connect with your children in a way that makes them feel seen and works for your family. Let's walk this through!
In this episode on enhancing quality time with our kids, we cover:
- How to increase the quality and frequency of the time you spend with your kids;
- The 3 things to focus on during your special time with your kids;
- Leaning into your child’s ‘love language’;
- How I implement these strategies with each of my children, specific to their own needs;
- And much more around enhancing quality time with your kids!
We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our Facebook or Instagram and let us know what you thought about today’s episode!
Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can leave a review by clicking here, scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much!
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More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at:
https://virginiafamilytherapy.com/enhance-quality-time/