I don’t want to write this blog. I already wrote this blog in, Between us Parents, following the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. And have referenced that article over and over as our country and our children continue to experience inconceivable violence every day....
Ritamaria Laird
Using Neuroscience to Help Calm Your Child
The vagus nerve & emotional well-being If you or your child is a client of mine at Individual and Family Connection, then you know how much of a brain geek I am! I simply don’t know how to talk about emotional regulation without considering what is happening in...
College Students: 5 Things to Know About Therapy
Has it hit you yet that you are in college?! Maybe it has, and you can’t even remember life before college, or you might be at that phase where you are wondering if your college days will ever end. Or maybe the transition between high school and college is a blur...
New Year’s Parenting Resolutions
When I was a kid, my family had a New Year’s Eve tradition to write down our resolutions for the upcoming year, put them in an envelope, and tuck them away to review for the last day of the year. Although it felt good to open up and realize achievements from the...
How To Know When Therapy is Done
At this point, you are well into your therapeutic experience. Your child and your family feel comfortable with your therapist. You are in a groove, feeling comfortable, and you may have even started to see some progress! This is so exciting and, of course, relieving!...
How to Prepare your Child for the Covid Vaccine
It’s been nearly 2 years since the COVID-19 pandemic turned our lives upside down. Along the way there have been so many surreal moments, worries, tears, and even bursts of relief. I will never forget the sense of relief and safety that entered our lives a year ago...
How to tell your child you’re getting a divorce
First, let’s take a deep breath together (really, take a deep breath). If you are reading this article, you are likely navigating an extremely difficult time in your life. Divorce with children is not easy and I applaud you for seeking advice to help you...
How to respond when your kid feels “fat”
Feeling fat in Kindergarten The first time I felt fat was at 6-years-old. I was in the school nurse's office with a bellyache, waiting for my dad to pick me up when I caught a glimpse of my bloated belly in a mirror. Despite my stomach ache, I began to run around the...
What is going on with my teen?
Have you ever wondered or even worried about what is going on with your teen’s behavior? Mood swings, falling for peer pressure, questioning the meaning of life, expressing themselves through wild hairstyles, and perhaps the scariest for a parent...engaging in...
Top 10 Parenting Wins of the Pandemic
It is hard to feel like you're winning at much of anything as a parent right now. As a parent myself, I know the guilt that follows with every mistake we make, when our child has a set back, or especially when our kids are struggling and we just don’t know why. This...