At last! Here’s the final part on the topic, Does Video Game Violence Cause Children and Adolescents to Become Violent? In this part, I focus on what parents can do about it. This is where the rubber meets the road! So, if you haven’t watched the other 7 (!) parts first, you can go back …Read More
Higher GPA if Students Pay
Feb 17, 2013
Can financial help from parents of college students do more harm than good? According to a recent study, it may. The study, mentioned in a press release from the American Sociological Association, found that students who received monetary assistance from their parents were more likely to have a lower grade point average than those students …Read More
Helping Kids Grow to Be “Successful” Adults
Jul 21, 2012
As parents, we all want what is best for our kids. We want them to be “successful,” right? I put that in quotes because I guess there can been some debate as to what is meant by “successful.” For some tiger parents, perhaps this means the child must become the high school valedictorian, go to an …Read More
The Keys to Being a Good Parent
Nov 6, 2011
As parents, we all try to do our best to do a good job. But with thousands of books on the topic of parenting as well as countless articles in popular magazines and periodicals, sometimes it is difficult to know how to be a good parent. Should we be more strict? More lenient? Use time-outs? …Read More
A Response to the “Tiger Mother” and a Thanks to Disney
Oct 2, 2011
First, before I jump into this topic, I want to apologize for the long delay since my last blog. I recently had a third child, so it’s difficult to keep up! My aim is to post weekly, so I promise to get back on track. I listened the audiobook version of Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of …Read More
The Problem of Technology “Addiction” – What We Can Do About It
Apr 20, 2011
So, I’ve now gone through why I think that technology can be “addictive,” (see previous posts An Addiction vs. A Problem and The Neuroscience of Tech Addiction) although I think it is important to not got get too hung up on the exact terminology. It is typically easier to discern whether it is a problem by …Read More
The Aftermath of Discipline on DadLabs
Jul 7, 2010
I recently was one of two psychologists interviewed for a segment on Dad Labs regarding how, as a parent, you should interact with your child after he/she has been given a consequence for misbehavior. As parents, we have to deal with the aftermath of discipline all the time, so this is some helpful information that …Read More
Teen Behavior: Emotional Problems or Just Hormones?
Dec 1, 2009
The changes that teens experience as they enter puberty affect them in many ways, including hormonal changes that can impact their mood and behavior. Increases in testosterone levels in boys can result in greater irritability and expressions of anger. Hormone changes in girls can have similar effects. However, when your teen’s emotional or behavior disruption …Read More
Teens & "Sexting"
Jan 25, 2009
I discussed teens & cell phones (particularly texting addiction) in my previous post. A new problem that has arisen in recent years is teens engaging in “sexting.” This means that teens are sending each other sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves or other teens via their cell phones. A recent survey indicated that about …Read More
Life Through a Lens
Jun 2, 2008
My eldest son’s graduation was this past Friday…from preschool. Not that there was a ton of pomp and circumstance, but there was a ceremony (in case you are wondering, he graduated magna cum laude – I’m one proud daddy!). Parents were out in force with their cameras and camcorders – myself included. My son posed …Read More