Good Enough Parenting Carley Aroldi, LPC, IMH-E ®

Have you heard of the new book “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt? From PBS to TikTok – everyone’s talking about it. And when something strikes a chord this deeply across our culture, it means something big is resonating. And here’s the headline – our young adults are showing more signs of anxiety and depression than ever before. And Haidt draws a very convincing connection between how moder...

If only there was a way we could connect with our kids, foster their social/emotional skills, develop their executive functioning while also having fun as a family. Oh wait! The answer has been hiding inside our cluttered closet the whole time…. Games! Structured games are an incredible way to help kids learn to manage their emotions (who hasn’t wanted to punch the candy land board when you get pulled back to gingerbread land mere steps away from the candy cas...

A few years ago, I got a call around 3:00 on Mother’s Day. A dear friend asked me if I would be able to meet her for a drink before dinner. Hell yes. We had both had less than ideal days that were meant to celebrate us but instead were filled with cranky kids and unmet expectations. We needed to commiserate.And at the risk of sounding like a terrible mother I’m going to be honest – our cocktail hour was the best part of my day. We laughed, we cried and we went back to our families restored an...

If your family is having a year like ours, you might be stuck in an endless cycle of SICK. And just when the illnesses are fading away…. here come the spring allergies! I’m thankful every day for medical treatments that help my family stay healthy and heal quickly – my kids are not so appreciative. Especially when they have a huge needle headed their way. But we’ve found ways to make scary things a little less frightening and help give our kids a sense of control when it ...

Have you read “Bittersweet” by Susan Cain? If you consider yourself (or your child) a big feeling person I can’t recommend it highly enough. As she says, if you like listening to sad music, enjoy a rainy day or feel overwhelmed by beauty sometimes, you can identify with a bittersweet state of mind. We used to think these deeper, more complex emotions were only felt by adults. But now we understand that children feel the full rainbow of feelings too. &nbsp...

When we are having big struggles with our kids, we often want to make big changes right away. “Let’s start a whole new morning routine!”“Let’s ban screens!”“Let’s do a ‘yes’ day to reconnect as a family!” (Ever since watching that movie my daughter has been demanding her very own ‘yes’ day. Curse you Jennifer Garner and your family-oriented movie magic!) But what helps the most is not when we make big proclamations and attempt big transformation. Real change comes f...