When working with children who struggle to emotionally regulate, I notice that each of these children has one thing in common: There is someone in their circle who they view as a role model who also struggles to emotionally regulate.

Parents spend a great deal of time and money making elaborate plans for their children's summer vacations. Day camps, sleep away camps, enrichment classes, social skills groups... you name it. For many kids, every single day of summer is planned down to the last minute. For working parents, summers may present child care challenges and perhaps this is the driving force behind this growing trend of summer programming.

When a child is anxious, most adults instinctively move into problem-solving mode. The urge is to fix it, reduce it, or protect the child from the discomfort. That instinct makes sense, and it comes from care! At the same time, anxiety rarely responds well to being rushed or pushed away. In many cases, the more pressure there is to make it stop, the more it tends to hold on.

Most people have heard that frequent social media usage shortens peoples’ attention span, and that it can even worsen Attention Deficit/ hyperactivity disorder symptoms, but what many people do not know is that it can also heighten symptoms of Anxiety.

You probably noticed that your child might prefer to play video games more than doing anything else. You may wish that your child would socializing in-person more, care more about school, go to bed on time, or do more exercise.