Recently a mom told me, "I'm so sick of hearing the song, It's the most wonderful time of the year, everywhere I go. Really . . . the most wonderful time of the year??? The problem is I have a teenaged daughter." Here's the deal. The...
Read More
Get prepared for the Holidays. The shopping malls have been ready since October with decorations of shiny tinsel, red bows, gigantic wreaths, and white lights. Thanksgiving is almost here and then the busy season hits. If you are not intentional you will be swept away in the...
Read More
What is Mother Fog? Mother Fog is when there are so many things going on at one time that you can't think clearly. This happens all the time with mothers. It's like your mind is covered with a thick, soupy, dense fog, and your thoughts, feelings, decisions,...
Read More
Every mom wants to know that she's doing a good job. It's natural for moms to look for validation. We compare ourselves to other moms and other daughters, or we look to our daughter's behaviour for confirmation. This is a big trap for moms and is...
Read More
I was talking to Chelsea a 15-year-old girl a few days ago. She's gorgeous and tall, yet she looked small sitting on my office couch. I asked her what was going on. She looked out the window and said, "Everyone hates me at school. I am...
Read More
Remember Cyndi Lauper's song from the 80's, Girls Just Want To Have Fun. You might remember singing that song at the top of your lungs driving to the lake with your friends when you were in high school or college. But that was along time ago...
Read More
Your daughter is going to get upset. The question is how will you handle it? This is a hard one for moms. We hate to see our daughters unhappy, so we jump in and try to fix it, but we make it worse. Your daughter needs what...
Read More
My family loves to tell stories. One of my favorites is when my sister was 13. My dad, sister and I were down at Memorial Park in Houston. We had hiked down to Buffalo Bayou. The bayou is brown and murky and God knows what...
Read More
Sometimes the answer is no. It has to be, if we are going to protect our daughters. This is not the fun part of being a parent. There she is standing in front of you in her mature grown-up body. She tells you, she can handle it....
Read More
Is your happiness dependent on your daughter's happiness? ...
Read More
I remember when I was 8 months pregnant when an acquaintance came up me and said, Is this your first? I said, "YES" in a happy voice. With a smirky grin she said, "You just wait!!!!!!!!!" Several years ago someone asked me how old my daughter was and...
Read More
A thriving home environment is key to having a happy, healthy, and productive home. What is a thriving home environment? A thriving home environment is all the circumstances, conditions, or factors that enable and encourage your family to thrive. Your daughter can be fabulous, but if she...
Read More
Summer is starting to fade away, and the reality hits us. Another school year is upon us. For many mothers the first day of school is a happy day. You get your time and space back. You can relax because you know your daughter is back...
Read More
Have you ever wondered if your daughter was depressed? If you have, you're not alone. A large new study recently came out in the journal Translational Psychiatry reveals that 13.6 percent of boys and a staggering 36.1 percent of girls have been or are depressed. That's one out...
Read More
It can drive you nuts. There she is lying on the sofa being a couch potato while you are running around trying to get your work done....
Read More
We call it multi-tasking. Women pride themselves for being able to do a million things at once. Here's my question. How's it working for you? My guess is that it's not working that well. Something is going to be compromised. It's not just that we are doing several things...
Read More
The lazy days of summer are finally here. Hopefully you've had a chance to catch your breath and play a little bit. ...
Read More
"How do I get my daughter to listen to me?" This is the big question for moms of teens. It seems so easy right? You tell your daughter what seems reasonable and you want her to listen to you. But actually we want more. We want...
Read More
Every mom wants to see her daughter making progress. You hope to witness your teen moving forward and progressing in their academics, creativity, relationships, responsibility and maturity. This yearning is instinctual in moms and feels like it is written in our DNA. Because this feeling is so...
Read More
Last week Sara came to see me in my private practice. Sara had that spaced out, frazzled look. She said, "I want my life back. It's only the first week of summer and I'm ready for school to start." Sara really didn't want school to start,...
Read More