Susan Newman's Blog, page 10
January 1, 2017
Why We Brag About Our Kids: Parental Pride Has No Age Limit
Society expects people to be modest. Yet, modesty is in short supply when it comes to our offspring be they 5 or 45 years old. You may find yourself puffing up your chest over your child’s achievements, long after they’ve left the nest.
I know 90-year-old parents who boast about their 70-year-old children’s successes. There are reasons parents do that.
Just as relatively new parents can’t help but tell their friends and family about what their toddler accomplished that day, parents to adult...
December 3, 2016
25 Days of Little Things
How are you and your family making this holiday season extra memorable? The holidays are an exciting time, but schedules can be so hectic that parent-child time can easy be pushed to the side.
To help time-strapped families make the most of this magical time of year, I’ve compiled a go-to list of family bonding and warm holiday rituals adapted from my book, Little Things Long Remembered: Making Your Children Feel Special Every Day.
Stay tuned for regularly updated ideas, or follow the hashta...
October 13, 2016
Five Parent-Proven Strategies for Managing Stress
Photo by Danilo Rizzuti/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Stress is a fact of life for parents. If you’ve got kids, you’ve got stress! Fortunately, it’s possible to learn strategies for managing life’s inevitable curveballs without being left feeling defeated or overwhelmed. Here are five parent-proven strategies for putting the brakes on stress so that you can be the calm and caring parent you want to be.
1. Shift your thinking
You might not be able to eliminate the source of your stress, but you can c...
August 29, 2016
How Parents Can Prevent Teen Medicine Abuse
“Liquid Relief” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by anthony_goto
What’s in your medicine cabinet that could lead to teen medicine abuse?The cough medicine—harmless, right? Yes, if taken as directed. The active ingredient in most over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines, dextromethorphan (DXM), is safe and effective when taken according to labeling instructions that teens may ignore. However, DXM can produce serious side effects if taken excessively.
Now why would anyone do that, you might ask? It so happen...
August 12, 2016
“I Have to Have It!” 12 Tips for Deprogramming the Spoiled Child
After returning from vacation, you open the refrigerator and realize you’ve left a half carton of milk. No problem. Simple solution for spoiled milk: You throw it out.
But what happens when you come face to face with your child who’s demanding the newest iPhone, iPad or movie concept toy? It seems “all the kids at school have them,” and suddenly the “crummy old piece of junk” your child absolutely had to have six months ago isn’t good enough anymore. Now it’s no longer the milk, but the chil...
July 31, 2016
Dethroned: Sharing Mom and Dad With a New Sibling
Parents of only children will likely agree: their singleton rules the roost. So, what happens when a baby is on the way?
To smooth the transition from having a child who is king or queen of the house to sharing the throne with a new sibling, parents often grapple with questions like:
What’s the best time to have a second child? When should we inform our firstborn that a brother or sister is on the way? How will having a second child affect the first? Who will take care of our firstbor...June 28, 2016
New Only Child Stereotype: : Only Children Prone to Overweight
Are only children really more likely to be overweight or obese? A potential new stereotype links childhood obesity to family size, birth order and, specifically, to only children.
Photo Credit: Krzysztof (Kriss) Szkurlatowski
Since 1896 when psychologist G. Stanley Hall pronounced only children were lonely, selfish, and bossy, these stereotypes have stuck. A number of studies in recent years could lead to a new only child stereotype: “fat.”
Alarm about the in...
New Only Child Stereotype: More Prone to Obesity. Really?
New Only Child Stereotype Brewing
Are only children really more likely to be overweight or obese? A potential new stereotype links childhood obesity to family size, birth order and, specifically, to only children.
Photo Credit: Krzysztof (Kriss) Szkurlatowski
Since 1896 when psychologist G. Stanley Hall pronounced only children were lonely, selfish, and bossy, these stereotypes have stuck. A number of studies in recent years could lead to a new only child stereotype: “fat.”
Alarm about the...
May 31, 2016
40 is the New 30 for Becoming a Mother
If you think you may be too old to have a baby, think again. For first-time mothers, 40 may just be the new 30. More women than ever before in their late thirties and well into their forties are starting families.
The CBS Sunday Morning Show looked at the increase in older women having babies. They talked with Dr. Joanne Stone, director, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City about what she sees in her practice and with me about why more and more women are having childre...
How Old is Too Old to Have a Baby?
by Susan Newman, Ph.D.
If you think you may be too old to have a baby, think again. The trend is clear: more and more women in their late thirties and well into their forties are starting families.
A few weeks ago, the CBS Sunday Morning show looked at the increase in older women having babies. They talked with Dr. Joanne Stone, director, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City about what she sees in her practice and, with me, about why more and more women are having childr...
