Category: Parents

Parent Coaching Through Skype

February 19, 2014

Shiloh Lundahl, LCSW, has worked with parents providing therapy and parent coaching in several cities throughout Arizona. Shiloh is an independent facilitator of the Love and Logic curriculum and has been trained in many other parenting programs as well. In order to make parent coaching more convenient to parents living outside the Phoenix Valley, Shiloh has started offering therapy through Skype. Parents in smaller cities in Southern Arizona such as Safford, Thatcher, Eager, Clifton, Willcox, Bisbee, Douglas, Sierra Vista, Benson, Vail, Green

Is That Consequence Logical?

February 12, 2014

I hear of parents whose knee-jerk reaction to almost anything that their child does wrong is to take away their child’s cell-phone. “It’s the only thing they care about”, parents will tell me. “It’s the only thing that makes them do the thing I ask them to do!” Whether the misbehavior is talking back, refusing to do chores, allowing grades to slip, or being mean to a sibling, these parents whip out their one skill (the cell phone take away)

5 Myths Clouding the Truth About Foster Care

December 7, 2013

Though many families and individuals have already chosen to step up to the plate and take on the challenge of providing a nurturing and secure environment for children placed in the foster care system, the fact remains that child welfare agencies are consistently overwhelmed with thousands more children who have yet to find a place to call home. Whether you’ve considered becoming a foster parent but are still on the fence about it or have never given it a thought

What We Can Learn About Parenting From The Power Company

September 19, 2013

Have you ever had your electricity shut off because you forgot to pay the power bill? As the payment date approached did you get a call from the power company reminding you about the due date and telling you what would happen if you didn’t pay the bill? Imagine the following phone conversation between Suzie from the power company and a customer – Mr. Jones: Suzie: Mr. Jones, I was looking at the calendar this morning and I saw that

How To Get Your Kids To Eat

September 16, 2013

Some kids are picky eaters. Unless it’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese, a dinner role, or plain cheese pizza, these kids can cry, whine, throw fits, or just simply refuse to eat the food on their plates. After a long day at work or taking care of children, the last thing a parent wants to do is to force their child to eat food that is good for them; not to mention the irritation a parent feels when a child refuses to

Improving Your Child’s Behavior at School

August 15, 2013

School can be very stressful for a parent and for a child. This is especially true if your child is having behavior problems or not doing their school work. It can be a vicious cycle: the child is having a hard time at school, the teacher expresses these concerns to the parent, the parent gets frustrated reacting in a punitive or harsh way and the child continues to do poorly. The first step in breaking the cycle is to take

How to praise kids effectively

August 7, 2013

Have you ever told a child that they did such a good job coloring their picture and then hear the child respond saying, “No I didn’t. I messed up on his nose. I don’t like it.” Why is it some kids argue when their parents try to praise them rather than beam with joy? Well, sometimes, kids can feel insecure about themselves or develop a belief that they are not good at something or even that they are not good

Shame Vs. Repair

June 13, 2013

Kids make lots of mistakes. The fact is we as parents make plenty of mistakes as well. As a therapist who works with children and families, I get to spend lots of time working with parents on their reactions to the mistakes their children make. In doing so, I have found that some parents react with an abrupt intensity when their children make mistakes. Unsurprisingly, many of these parents were reacted to in similar ways when they were kids and

Too High of a Wage at Too young of an Age

April 1, 2013

A mother recently shared that she was trying to encourage her four children (ages five to eleven) to read by offering to give them a dollar for each book they read. It was working out great until the neighbor offered to pay them to pull his weeds. Because this neighbor liked her boys and wanted to be generous, he paid them each $10 an hour to pull weeds. This experience may not have seemed harmful at first, however, now when

Can it be Bad to Buy Your Kids Nice Things?

March 21, 2013

I don’t remember the last time I saw a 12-year-old delivering newspapers on a bike. Nowadays, it seems like newspapers are delivered either by an adult in a car or by a kid being driven by an adult in a car. I don’t mean to criticize. I just miss the days when kids would deliver the newspaper on their bikes, or go door to door with a lawn mower on a Saturday seeing if they could mow a lawn or