Recent Articles
Positive Discipline for Your Teen: The Benefits of Disciplining Positively
As parents, we want to raise respectful kids who can make their way in the world. Unfortunately, we are sometimes relying on older parenting models and are frustrated when they don’t work. There are three basic discipline styles: 1. Authoritarian. There are rules and punishments. Children are not
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The Benefits of Creative Arts Therapy for Kids
Step into Seattle art therapist Mineko Takada-Dill’s studio and you’ll find an array of paints, clay, pastels, charcoal and textured papers. She uses these materials to help her clients let their guard down and experience the therapeutic benefits of art. Who hasn’t felt relaxation, focus and a sens
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The Dirt on Chores: Does Your Child Help Clean Up?
Getting kids to do chores can seem like a chore in itself. If they don’t refuse, they moan and groan. If they don’t moan and groan, they drag their feet. If they don’t drag their feet, they do a sloppy job. It’s enough to convince parents they’re better off scrubbing the tub, mowing the lawn or loa
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Teen Coed Sleepovers: Totally Fine or Out of the Question?
The days when sleepovers conjured up images of giggling teenage girls painting their toenails and talking about boys have pretty much gone the way of baby-doll pajamas. These days, parents are routinely asked to make decisions about sleepovers with guest lists that include boys and girls. Sometimes
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Secure Attachment: The Best Gift That You Can Give Your Child
When the average Joe and Jane Parent identify the most important ingredients in raising healthy kids, they’ll mention “love” at the top of the list every time. When you ask child psychologists this same question, they instead use the term “secure attachment.” Since even abusive parents state that t
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Kid’s Health: Nutrition for A Healthy Teen
“It’s hard!” says Central Seattle mom Jennifer “J.T.” Thames, laughing as she considers the question of how to ensure that her kids receive proper nutrition as she looks at her teenage son holding a handful of chips. Thames is the first to admit that she has less power over her teen’s nutritional ch
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The Prevalence of Teen Dating Violence
One in four teenagers is in a violent dating relationship. And forty percent of teenage girls, say they know someone their age who has been physically abused by a boyfriend. That surprises most parents I talk to. Lasting effects of being in a violent relationship can be poor self-esteem, drug abuse
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The Benefits of Volunteering for Teens
When she arrived in the Eastern Washington farming community of Wapato last spring for a six-day school service trip, Overlake High School junior Caroline Spencer expected to learn about migrant farm workers’ issues and work alongside them in apple orchards. What she didn’t expect was that her exper
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