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“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”The first time I encountered this idea from Karl Barth was in a 20th Century Theology class I took while in college. I thought it sounded deep and profound, and I made sure to doodle it in the margins of the class notes of my trusty three-ring binder.Over the years I’ve seen that line pop up again and again. It’s an inspirational quotation on wall calendars and day planners. I’ve seen it calligraphed on coffee cups and etched on tchotchkes.But ever si …

Recently, a parent group for our local school district posted this question: “Starting the year in a new school. What can I do to get my kid ready?”What a great question! And it got us thinking, there are a number of things you can do to help your child get ready for a new year or new school, such as: make sure they are going to bed earlier, practice getting up earlier, eat well, make sure they know and practice how to introduce themselves, review with them what it means to be a good friend …

More than ten years ago, I embarked on an odyssey that, like all good odysseys, completely changed my life. Here’s what happened.It was August 2012, and I was moping around the house, convinced that everyone — yes, Every. Single. One. out there — had a better life than I did. Comparison truly is the thief of joy, and when I measured my life against the picture-perfect lives I saw in my social media feed, I knew I came up short.Oh, look! There’s a photo of someone’s breakfast, complete with …

As summer progresses and schedules get busier, it might be more tempting to allow children to stay home alone. Waking the whole family for an early baseball or softball game of one family member may seem like more trouble than it’s worth. If you are wondering whether or not your children are old enough to be left alone, first call your Child Protection Services to find out the minimum legal age at which they can be on their own. Then consider their ages and abilities. Determine that they …

As a mom, I wanted to instill confidence in my three children, but I always feared that if they became overly confident, they would struggle. Confidence is an attribute that will serve a child for life. However, overconfidence can keep kids from growing, learning, and reaching their ultimate potential. At the same time, if children care too much about the opinions of others, they may start to question or doubt their own intrinsic self-worth. As parents, embracing our children for wh …

Most people don’t have positive associations with the word fear. This is completely understandable. Feeling scared to your core isn’t exactly a pleasant experience. While not necessarily enjoyable, there’s a case to be made in defense of fear. Fear is the body’s way of trying to stay safe – both physically and emotionally. Certain fears (snakes, spiders, or heights, for example) are fairly common because they potentially put our bodies in danger. Other fears, such a …

This article was originally shared on momaha.com.Depression affects kids in a variety of ways and can be situational or a constant in their life.There are a few things parents can do to help keep depression at bay and help their kids through this challenging time. Here are a few tips:1. Implement routine and schedules for your kids throughout the day.For example, try to eat meals and snacks at similar times during the day. If your kids are school-age, implement a study hour at the same time each …

Today, more and more students seem to be experiencing separation anxiety. That’s not terribly surprising, however, given everything they’ve lived through in recent years. According to the Child Mind Institute, several contributing factors are behind the rise in separation anxiety: Many kids have grown accustomed to spending more time at home with their families. They have experienced disrupted school schedules and routines. They are more wary of others after m …

How many thoughts do you think you typically have in a single day? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? Maybe millions?Some days, it seems like I have a billion thoughts racing through my head. But I also have days when it feels like a single thought is stuck on repeat in my mind. Well, research from Queen’s University in Canada suggests that I – and you – have nowhere near a billion thoughts a day. But we most certainly have more than just a handful, too.The typical individual averages abou …

“Hurt people hurt people” is an adage that you’ve likely heard before. The notion behind this statement is something along the lines of, “Those who have experienced emotional pain and suffering may lash out and inflict emotional pain on others.” I’m not here to argue the veracity of this oft-quoted saying. Instead, my hope is to see it one day replaced by an altogether different assertion: helped people help people. Every February, we celebrate National School Counseling Week, a …