Thank you to guest writer, Carla C. Hugo, divorce coach at www.getcoached.com!

​When a threat comes between you and your child, what's your first response? Often, your hackles are raised and your lips recede baring your teeth, all in an attempt to defend your “cub.”
 
What happens when the threat to your child is the dissolution of your own marriage? Facing divorce is as frightening as any other threat to your children’s well-being. And in this state of emotion, you function from your “Reptilian Brain.” This is the part of your brain that is activated for survival. Your response to the threat of a broken home for your children may include fight, flight, fear or freezing.
 
It is imperative that you learn techniques to move out of your emotional brain and into your logical-thinking brain. Otherwise, you will be making life long decisions about parenting time, housing, alimony and child-support from the short-term survival decision making part of your brain. Doing so can cause long-term challenges on your life and those precious cubs you long to protect.
 
Get the neutral support you need from a counselor or coach. Learn to feel your emotions, and to refrain from making major life decisions while in an emotional state. A counselor that has experience with divorce or a coach who specializes in divorce are both great resources. Thinking with your logical brain will enable you to protect your “cub” and function better. If you’re functioning better, your children will function better and you will be able to make the right decisions for your family's future.

​This is the time of year when children are transitioning.  Parents are bringing their kids to college, children are starting school and whether it's your first child or your last child, it can be emotional.  Throughout a child's life, parents need to let go - when a toddler first learns to walk, the first day of preschool or kindergarten, the first sleepover, the first day of high school - all of these experiences can be difficult for parents to let their children go out on their own.  But the more parents can encourage children to be independent, the easier it will be for children to make these transitions.
 
Children look to us as their role model for many things.  If we have a tremendous amount of anxiety or trepidation about our children's independence, children will be able to tell, even if we don't say anything.  Talk to a friend or your spouse about your feelings so that you can express your fears and anxieties.  If you're still feeling anxious, see a therapist so that you can work through those emotions.  It may be bringing up something from your childhood and it may help to have a few sessions with a professional to lessen your anxiousness.
 
During these transitional times, I encourage parents to ask their children questions - ask them about their feelings about going to high school or leaving for college.  Ask them what they're excited for and and what they're nervous about.  Ask them how they plan to handle any challenges.  After hearing all of their feelings, tell them how confident you are that they are going to be able to handle the experience and give specific examples from their past about how they've handled other difficult situations.  This conversation is so important because if children feel that their parents have confidence in them, this can give them the confidence they need to move forward.  Letting go of our children is difficult but there's nothing more rewarding for a parent than watching your children conquer a new challenge successfully.

My son just recently had his wisdom teeth removed and he's recovering nicely physically.  But his moods are another story.  I've been biting my tongue and trying to stay calm but if I hadn't gone through this with my two older sons I wouldn't be able to be able to put this phase into perspective.

The teen years can be tough - for parents and for teens.  Hormones are going wild, teens are trying to figure out who they are and there is so much pressure on them to succeed in school and in life.  I wouldn't want to go back to those years for all the money in the world!  

Each child experiences the teen years differently but they all have some kind of adjustment.  I've counseled many parents of teens and teenagers and I've found that the most important thing that a parent can do is to focus on their relationship with the teen.  If the relationship is strong, your teen should be ok.  While it may be difficult to have a good relationship with your teen, here are some tips to help:

1. Don't take it personally.  Whatever they say, however they act, remember it's not personal.  That doesn't mean that you allow them to treat you badly.  But don't overreact.  Simply say, "When you're ready to speak to me respectfully, we can talk."  And walk away.
2. It's normal!  Teenagers typically have some period of time where they are moody or difficult.  It doesn't mean that the teen is a bad kid.  It means that they feel safe in your relationship and they can let their guard down with you.
3. Let the leash out.  Allow your teen some independence.  Let your teen do some things that they weren't allowed to do in the past.  Too much independence probably isn't best because teens can get into trouble.  But the only way your teen will grow into a responsible adult is for him or her to be given responsibility.
4. Tell your teen that you love them no matter what.  A teenager really needs to hear that their parent loves them. And it may be hard to say, especially after your teen is rude to you.  But that's exactly when they need to hear it.  Because they don't feel good about themselves when they're like that.  And if their parent still loves them when they act that way, that means that they aren't so bad.  

​All of this requires a parent to be very patient and to have a lot of self-control.  In order to do that, we need to take care of ourselves.  As I've mentioned in my previous blog posts, it's extremely important for parents to take care of themselves.  So when you find yourself ready to react harshly with your teen, ask yourself, "What can I do right now to take care of myself?"  If you can do this successfully, you'll get through the teen years and have independent, appreciative and happy adult children to laugh about it with!

We often hear about a child or an adult who has ADHD or dyslexia or one of the many other learning disabilities (LDs) and feel sorry for them. Many people are embarrassed and ashamed that they are different than others and have had to struggle in school or at a job. Many parents avoid getting their children evaluated because they don't want them labeled. A person's self-esteem can be significantly impacted by this struggle and it can effect them for the rest of their life.

My experience was different. I struggled in elementary school with reading. Although I did very well in my math classes, I couldn't do well in English class no matter how hard I worked. I couldn't read until 3rd grade and even when I started reading, I had a hard time keeping up with the rest of my class. 

My mother was never the type to give up on anything, especially her children, so she took me to doctors and specialists. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and my mother completely changed my diet.  She brought me to a center in New York City every week to get eye exercises. She gave me carrot juice (which tasted awful to a 9 year old) and took me to health food stores and alternative doctors before it was the thing to do.

During this time, she never gave me the impression that I was lazy or stupid. Instead, she told me that I was very smart and capable. She had faith in me that with the right help, I would be able to succeed. Although I never became a top student in my English class, I did succeed. I went to Cornell University and completed a masters degree.  And getting through my earlier struggles has made me the person that I am - hardworking, creative, efficient, empathic.
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People with LDs are gifted - we are unique, special, different. But being different in this society can be very difficult. We look at our friends and neighbors and see what looks like a perfect life. We compare ourselves or our children and feel that we don't measure up. But if we look at our differences as strengths instead of weaknesses, we can help our children feel good about who they are and we can feel good about who we are.  We can help parents appreciate and nurture their children's unique gifts - just like my mom did.  And if you didn't have a mom or dad who did that, every day you can nurture yourself and surround yourself with people who appreciate and celebrate the unique and special person you are.

My 16 year old son asked me this week whether he should go to his track practice after school because his throat hurt.  I immediately thought to myself that he was just trying to get out of practice and he should push himself to go.  I thought that he wasn't being tough or competitive enough if he didn't go to practice.  I wanted to say, "Just go to practice!"  But then I asked myself what message did I want to send him.  Do I want him to ask me whenever he had a difficult decision to make?  Did I want him to think I didn't have confidence in his judgement?  

I was very glad that I thought before I answered (I don't always do that!).  I ended up saying that it was up to him and that I think he could go with a sore throat but he would have to make the decision about what he wanted to do.  In the end he decided to go to practice.  I know that if I really pushed him to go he might have been a little resentful and angry about it.  Instead, he learned that I trusted him to make decisions about himself and that he didn't have to fight against anyone - he could think independently about what he was going to do.

Everyday our children ask our advice and interact with us and it gives us an opportunity to teach them something.  I'm not saying that you can never give your children advice.  But at some point, they aren't going to be able to ask us for our advice.  We want our children to have confidence in themselves.  We want them to individuate, or develop their own sense of self.  We want them to make their own choices and learn from their mistakes.  The best thing a parent can do is think before answering a child, "What do I want him to learn?"

I am quoted in an article in the 2016 Central Jersey Family Living.  It's titled, "Making Time to Bond" and it outlines how mother-son and father-daughter time is important.  You may not have seen it because it's at the back of the magazine but if you have it, take a look.  The article describes how it's easier to spend time with the same sex child - fathers take their sons to ballgames and mothers take their daughters for manicures.  This may be true in some cases.  What it didn't go into was that each child and parent relationship is so unique that it's difficult to generalize.  Some mothers are more connected to their sons and find it easier to spend time with them while some dads are more connected to their daughters.  It's so dependent upon the personality of the child and parent that it's better to discuss how important it is to spend focused time with your child.

The child can feel so special by a parent doing something that the child really enjoys.  It really does a lot for a child's self-esteem if the parent regularly listens to the child and spends quality time doing what the child likes to do.  This doesn't have to be every day - once a week is enough.  But taking an hour or two once a week gives the child a gift that will last a lifetime.  

​What do you do with your child to make them feel special?