Everything looks fine. The grades are good. The calendar is full. The teachers like her, the coach plays her, the college list is coming together. From the outside, your kid is doing great, and everyone keeps telling you so. So why do you have this quiet feeling that something is off? I want you to …
Everything Looks Fine: Why the Kid Who’s Doing Great Might Be the One to Watch Read More »
What Teens Really Need During Divorce (That They Often Won’t Say Out Loud) Divorce doesn’t end when the paperwork does. For teenagers, the emotional weight of it can stretch on for years, and most of the time, you won’t hear about it directly. In my work with adolescents and families, I’ve watched divorce show up …
If you are the parent of a teenager, the phone is probably one of your quieter worries. Not the device itself, but everything it opens the door to. Who they are talking to. What they are seeing. How it is shaping the way they feel about themselves at eleven at night. Here is some good …
Instagram Teen Accounts: A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Teen Online Read More »
A new school year has a way of throwing the whole house off balance. Summer’s loose rhythm gives way to early alarms, homework, and packed afternoons, often overnight. The good news is that a few steady routines make the transition dramatically smoother, for your kids and for you. Routines are not about rigidity. They are …
Establishing Healthy Routines for the School Year Read More »
The teenage years are hard. Hard for your teen, who is changing faster than they can keep up with, and hard for you, watching it happen and not always knowing how to help. Somewhere in there, a lot of parents wonder whether counseling would help, and then talk themselves out of it. It does not …
Why Counseling for Teens Matters, and What Your Teen Will Actually Gain Read More »
There are few things harder as a parent than realizing your child is being hurt and you are not there to stop it. Bullying hits that nerve like almost nothing else. If you are worried your child is on the receiving end of it, this is what to look for and how to help. What …
It is hard to imagine a child being depressed. Childhood is supposed to be the carefree part. But depression does not check a birth certificate. About four percent of children in the United States have diagnosed depression, and the real number of kids struggling is almost certainly higher, because in children it is so easy …
Depression in Kids: Why It Often Looks Like Anger, and How to Help Read More »
There is a particular sting to catching your child in a lie. It is not just the lie itself. It is the flicker of worry underneath it. Who is my kid becoming? Did I do something wrong? Before you spiral, take a breath. Lying is one of the most normal things children do, and how …
When Your Child Lies: Why They Do It and How to Respond Read More »
Look at a lot of family calendars around here and you will see the same thing. Travel sports, tutoring, music lessons, clubs, practice, more practice. Every square filled. And every one of those activities is a good thing. That is exactly what makes this hard to see. A packed schedule looks like devoted parenting, right …
The Over-Scheduled Child: When a Full Calendar Costs Too Much Read More »
Williamson County has a reputation. Great schools, beautiful neighborhoods, families who seem to have it all together. Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Thompson’s Station, Fairview. From the outside, it looks like a place where everyone is doing fine. From the inside of a counseling office, the picture is more honest. A lot of people here …
Mental Health in Williamson County: The Pressure Nobody Talks About Read More »