Did you make a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier this year? If so, good for you! Eating a healthy diet is one of the most important decisions we can make for our physical and mental health. Wholesome nutrition, in combination with exercise, is vital to leading a thriving lifestyle. Let’s face it though, unhealthy eating often seems…
When many employees were “forced” to go home to work during the Pandemic of 2020, “temporarily” became permanent for a lot of us. So, quite a few individuals have decided it’s time to move to parts of the country where life can be enjoyed while doing jobs remotely. If this is a choice you now have, but you’re…
Last year brought many changes as a result of the pandemic that altered life as we knew it. Now, many children are experiencing anxiety and parents are wondering what to do. Anxiety in children can look very different depending on the child and his age. Younger children often seem irritable and have meltdowns or tantrums. They…
Raising children is a joyful experience for most parents. Holding a new “little bundle of joy” in their earliest days of life can be indescribable. It’s an experience most parents enjoy with overflowing love in their hearts. On the flip side, becoming a stepparent is sometimes a very different experience. In most cases, you don’t get…
As parents, we spend years training our children to be fully functioning adults by the time they’re ready to fly away from the comforts of their childhood home—aka “the nest.” At least, we think we should be guiding them toward this big event. But is this parent-to-child training time something of days gone by? Is it…
Have you wondered when, and how, to discuss the topic of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco with your kids? Perhaps you’ve seen the devastation of substance abuse in families close to you and hope to keep this problem from entering your own doorstep. Benjamin Franklin is known to have said, “An ounce of prevention is worth…
Do you desire to parent children or teens, but have not been able to have kids of your own? If so, foster parenting may be a good option for you. Recently, I spoke with Daniel Vaughan—a licensed therapist at The BabbCenter for Counseling in Hendersonville, Tennessee—about his past experience of working in the foster care system.…
When we consider the years of childhood, we typically think about a span of time filled with friends, laughter, and playtime with friends. Toys, bikes, and games are the primary ingredients of joy to children around the world. However, when wrongful “adult games” intersect with childhood, the innocence in children’s fun and laughter is suddenly boxed up…
People with substance dependences often tell concerned loved ones that they can handle it. In other words, “it” doesn’t control them. I think this mindset is true of most people with obsessions of any type. Perhaps you can say “No” to substances like drugs or alcohol but, what about food? Does it have a bite…
When is the best time to talk with kids about sexuality? The earlier, the better! For general growth changes, it’s great to “grow” these conversations along with your child’s physical growth. Meaning—start talking with them in their preschool years about simple matters related to their bodies. Talk about the uniqueness of their body compared to that of…