People regularly seek therapy to get rid of, stop, or eliminate something in their lives: intrusive thoughts, challenging emotions, and habits/behaviors. Or, they’ve been avoiding acknowledging these disruptions, but have come to realize they need to do something to...
How do children learn appropriate behaviors? We teach them! We may need to make some updates to our approach, however, to teach with the brain in mind. 21st century teaching and parenting recommendations have finally caught up with what Benjamin Franklin proposed over...
During a recent counseling session, an overwhelmed parent worriedly shared her approach to protecting her six-year-old son from the challenges that come with the uncertainty of the pandemic. She told me, “I try to just stay positive, tell him not to worry, and offer...
Which do you think you notice and comment on more: children’s challenging behavior or their positive behavior? How about in your life in general: do you tend to focus on the challenges more than what is going well? That can lead to a huge amount of stress and a...
Looking to strengthen your understanding of children’s development, learning, and behavior? Start by “seeing” the child rather than changing the behavior. In this article, Laura connects how the brain’s drives, needs, and operating systems (zones) work together to...
In recent years, mindfulness seems to have garnered quite a bit of interest in the West. People regularly talk about being mindful, but what does that mean? And, in particular, how might mindfulness be taught to young children?...
In this article, Laura Fish and Craig Zercher outline the practice of positive, descriptive acknowledgement (PDA) and PDA Plus as replacement strategies for praise. If you are looking for ways to connect to your child (interpersonal attunement) as well as help the...
In this article, Laura discusses the central role executive function skills play in children’s learning and development. The article explores what executive function skills are, the brain’s role, and classroom practices that may support their development,...
