Blog Archives

Semester is flying by!

10/31/2019

I don't know about y'all but this semester is just flying right on by! Today is Halloween and by the time most people read this, it'll be November 1st and time to think about Thanksgiving!

While we hope the year has been a great one, we wanted to take a second and just slow down to highlight a couple resources we think have been excellent to help the remainder of this semester go by smoothly.

Our Speaker Series has had an amazing turnout! Thank YOU parents! We have all the presentations, handouts, and videos posted here. However, we easily have all presentations as PODCASTS! Get your listen on in the car or while you're working out!

We also had a wonderful turn out for the NAMI - Let's Talk: Starting the mental health conversation with your teen presentation this past Monday. We will have the video presentation and all handouts on the website next week!

Additionally, Austin Child Guidance Center has been offering some wonderful parent series this year as well. There's at least one let - managing tantrums and meltdowns - and even if your child is in high school, this is still important information to learn!

If you've found a great resource in the community - let us know!!

We hope that your family has a wonderful and safe Halloween! Know that it's intentional that we are choosing to "slow down" this week because we really want to focus on the here and now and gratitude as we move into November and Thanksgiving!

Stay Healthy, Chaps!
-Kristi and Katie

why raising brilliant kids starts with redefining brilliant

10/24/2019

I thought this interview was so interesting. I love playing games so it's win for me!
"We all want to raise smart, successful kids, so it's tempting to play Mozart for our babies and run math drills for kindergartners. After all, we need to give them a head start while they're still little sponges, right?
"It doesn't quite work that way," says Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University and co-author of Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children with Roberta Golinkoff. She's been studying childhood development for almost 40 years.
So how does it work? You need the "six C's" for kids to succeed -

collaboration
communication
content
critical thinking
creative innovation
confidence

and why raising brilliant kids starts with redefining brilliant."

"It turns out that you learn better when things are joyful than when they're not joyful. So I bet your kids would help you a whole lot more if you made a game from the darks and the whites in that laundry room. Maybe you just have to throw it from different lines: a three-point line, two-point line, maybe even have the three-quarter-point line and the one-quarter-point line, and then they do fractions, right?

Play is active, not passive. And it turns out the way we learn is active, not passive. When we're sitting there like a couch potato we aren't learning as much as when we're doing.

It should be meaningful as opposed to meaningless, so when we're memorizing flashcards stuff, that's not play.
Generally, play is socially interactive as opposed to solo.
And it's iterative. That means each time you revisit it, there's something new to discover about it. I think you can have true play where the kid is the director, not the adult. And adults out there, don't interfere by jumping in and deciding what's going on with your child's play. Help by setting the environment and going with their story and supporting it."

So turn off those electronics and pull out the games!

Stay Healthy, Chaps!
-Katie & Kristi

Wishing You A Happy and Safe Homecoming!

10/17/2019

Fall in Texas means football and football means homecoming and homecoming means mums (which did you know are primarily a Texas thing?). Homecoming also means dresses, dinner reservations, party buses/limos, and parties (both pre-graming and the after party). We want to make sure that parents are educated in providing a fun but safe homecoming experience for their teenagers!

Did you know that when a teen admits to drinking, they aren't admitting to drinking the same way an adult drinks? Teens chronically are binge drinking. Binge drinking is much more dangerous than casual/social drinking. This article explains the dangers of binge drinking and how to talk to your child about their drinking habits!

What's a parent to do? SAMHSA recommends to "Talk. They Hear You.", with the following goals in mind:

Voice your Values. Over 80% of kids 10-18 say parents have the biggest impact on their decision on whether to drink, so decide upon your family values and communicate your expectations to them. Keep in mind this can also include clever ways to help them get out of tricky peer pressure situations as discussed in this article!
Show you care. Keep calm and neutral while stressing the short-term consequences on your child's growing brain, social standing and academic performance.
Show you are informed. Teach them about alcohol and how it affects their growing body. Read below for some good info to share with your student.
Help them resist peer pressure. Agree on a word or phrase he or she can use to have you pick them up, no questions asked. Come up with 5 excuses they can use to refuse a drink. This article has some excellent suggestions!

Three Things To Remind Your Students About Alcohol:

Alcohol affects you, even if you don't feel it. How fast alcohol affects you is influenced by many things, including your weight, how much you've eaten, how fast you drink and even changes in your hormones that happen during the month. Even if you aren't slurring your words or stumbling, alcohol is causing changes in how you act and react.
The only thing that will sober you up is time. Coffee, cold showers, exercise or other "cures" will not speed up how fast your body gets rid of the alcohol. Know this when your friends want to do shots or play drinking games. It takes one hour for a 100 lb. girl to metabolize 1 oz. of alcohol.
Have a plan. Remember that some of your friends may want to say no, too - support them. Ideas: Offer to be the designated driver. Carry the same drink around all night; pouring some down the bathroom sink. Have Fasten or your parents ready to call for a ride.

Don't be a afraid to talk to your kids - they are listening and they DO want your support!

Often times an easy location to binge drink is on the party bus/limo ride over to dinner, the game, or the after party. Here are some tips on what to look out for if your child is celebrating with a party bus!

We also want to remind parents (and their teens) about services like Uber, Lyft, Fasten, Yellow Cab, and BeMyDD because there is no "good" reason to drink and drive OR be a passenger in a car when someone else has been drinking!

Homecoming CAN be an amazing, memorable, fun, and safe time. Make sure you are talking with your teen so that they can enjoy this homecoming and future events too!

Go Chaps!
Kristi Waidhofer and Katie Bryant

world mental health day!

10/10/2019

October 10th is World Mental Health Day! It's time we start talking about it like any other medical issue.

Prince Harry and Ed Sheeran have teamed up in a video to raise awareness for World Mental Health Day -- with a light-hearted jibe at their own plight as Britain's most famous redheads.
"There's no need to suffer in silence -- share how you're feeling, ask how someone is doing and listen for the answer. Be willing to ask for help when you need it and know that we are all in this together."

This shows how we treat mental illness so differently from a physical illness. We blogged about this a few years back.

I firmly believe that medication and therapy should be options to consider when looking at treating mental issues. But there are others changes we came make that can help us to feel and function better. I also hear a lot from parents that they don't know if it's "really that bad." Here is a great article about getting outside and how physical activity can help!

We hope you can join us at the event below!

Below is a great list to have on hand when you or anyone around you is feeling down -

Images can be so powerful since mental health issues we may be experiencing can often times be hard to explain -

We post the Crisis Text line - 741-741 quite a bit. We believe everyone should have someone to reach out to.

As always,

Happy World Mental Health Day, Chaps! We are here for YOU!
-Katie & Kristi

Practicing Self-Compassion Can Boost Your Mental Health

10/4/2019

New research looks into how mindfulness and compassion-focused therapy can help treat depression, anxiety and stress.

People who are feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed are often ruminating on other things. The very act of being able to slow down and give our attention only to the "here and now" and be kind to ourselves through this process as well - frees individuals from being stuck emotionally.

Curious to know if you're excelling in this area? Take a Quick Self Compassion Quiz to learn more!

If you find that you're in need of some self-compassion improvement - be kind to yourself and check out a couple more ideas here!

Stay Healthy (and compassionate), Chaps!
-Kristi and Katie

Semester is flying by!

why raising brilliant kids starts with redefining brilliant

Wishing You A Happy and Safe Homecoming!

world mental health day!

Practicing Self-Compassion Can Boost Your Mental Health

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