Susan Newman's Blog, page 8

What’s Your Parenting Stress Level? 4 Tools for Coping

How do you know your own parenting stress level? Jessica Valenti, author of Why Have Kids?, believes that if you’ve ever felt like you face an onslaught of constant worries, demands, and sudden curveballs, you’re not alone. Valenti writes, “Nearly every study done in the last ten years on parental happiness shows a marked decline in life satisfaction of those with kids.” Surely parents’ stress levels have something to do with these findings.

Whether you have an infant, toddlers, teens or yo...

3 Ways to Prevent Teen DXM Abuse

Would You Drink a Coffee Mug of Cough Syrup? Your Teen Might. While your family medicine cabinet seems less threatening than hard drugs or alcohol abuse, consider this: Some teens turn to easily accessible over-the-counter cough medicine for a buzz. We’ll look at three ways to prevent teen DXM abuse.

In this guest post, Anita Brikman, from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, presents things parents can do to keep an eye out for and curb abuse.  Some red flags to keep in mind: You no...

Does Birth Order Affect Personality?

Not too long ago I explained why people still “feel sorry” for only children. Negative thoughts and myths about them have been swirling for more than a hundred of years.

In spite of a steady spike in the only-child population in the U.S. and most developed countries, children without siblings are still singled out for intense scrutiny.

Here we go again. A new study published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior says, “Only-child and non-only-child exhibit differences in creativity and ag...

Why People Still “Feel Sorry” for Only Children

Source: Peter Dahlgren/Flickr.com

How many times have you heard that only children are, among other things, lonely, spoiled, selfish? If you have an only child, you can be sure that someone in your circle thinks this way.

Even if no one you know voices his or her opinion out loud, large swaths of the population believe the negative stereotypes about only children. Decades of research have refuted the myths surrounding only children, but the stigma holds fast today.

Read more on Psychology Toda...

Only Child Stereotypes: Fact vs. Fiction

You have to wonder why, when the U.S. Census reports that the single child family is the fastest growing family unit, people tell you to have another child (or you think you should). Proponents of large or larger families claim your only child will be spoiled, lonely, or selfish or worse. These social stereotypes and others date back to the late 1890s and have no basis in fact and probably never did. It is parenting style more than the number of siblings that influences how an only child — o...

10 Memorable Ways to Celebrate Mother’s Day

Photo Credit: doriana_s via FreeImages

Life swirls at a hectic pace in most families today. Mother’s Day is a chance to slow down and appreciate one another—while saluting the woman of honor. You’ll want to make the day special, but celebrating Mother’s Day shouldn’t require extensive planning and preparation.

Starting traditions and making memories is much easier than you think. Consider the ideas below as your personal “think tank.” Any one of them brings a family closer and makes being one...

6 common in-law conflicts after baby arrives: How to handle them

This article on in-law conflicts was originally published in Mother.ly

The baby has arrived and so have your in-laws.

Chances are they were involved in some way during your pregnancy. They may have watched what you ate, tried to trick the baby’s gender out of you even though you were clear you didn’t want to tell, or perhaps they wanted to help name the baby following their family’s tradition.

Involving your in-laws because you want to is one thing. Doing so unwillingly opens the door for you...

The Value of Sibling Relationships: Don’t Listen to the Stereotypes

This article  on the value of sibling relationships was originally published in Mindprint Learning

 

If you are the parent of one child, it’s hard not to think about only child stereotypes and hope that none of them will apply to your child. To that end, you try to teach your child not to be selfish or bossy or to insist on having everything his own way. Such behavior is not only worrisome in its own right, but also can affect his future relationships and educational success.

To compound yo...

6 Smart Ways to Interact with Your In-Laws After the Baby Arrives

Photo Credit: Rick Cowan

Protecting yourself without damaging your in-law relationship

 

Plenty of people struggle with maintaining happy and healthy relations with their in-laws. Bring a newborn into the equation and unexpected sticky in-law situations can quickly arise.

 

You likely spent a lot of time with your in-laws before getting married. And you may have felt that they were involved in your pregnancy—baby showers, advice and perhaps even aspects of the birth. Even if you want to incl...

The 3 Types of Parents Who Get Bullied by Their Children

Is your child just being difficult—or is she being a bully?

Many children display obnoxious or frustrating behavior, like throwing tantrums or talking back. Perhaps your teen straight up refuses your requests. When your child becomes so difficult that he’s impossible to manage, or is verbally abusive, he or she may actually be bulling you without your realizing it.

Who gets bullied by their kids and how can a bullied parent turn the situation around. New York psychotherapist and author Sean G...