Psychologist for Parenting

09/23/2026

The Homework Routine That Actually Sticks

I was at curriculum night last night, squeezed into the little chair, and I watched the same realization ripple across the room: wait, there has been homework this whole time? Kids almost never tell us what is really going on at school, so the workload stays invisible until a teacher lays it all out, and then it lands on everyone at once and the calm first weeks turn tense.

Here is the part that helps: the answer is not nagging harder. It is a simple routine and clear expectations, set up early when nobody is stressed, so homework becomes a habit instead of a nightly battle. The real goal is a child who slowly learns to run it themselves, and a home where school is not the thing you argue about every night.

What is homework time like at your house right now, smooth or a battle? You are in good company either way.

A child psychologist's calm, autonomy-first homework routine: how much homework really helps, why kids resist, and a system your child can run without a nightly battle.

09/23/2026

The Psychology of the Spiced Latte

The first cool morning hits and, like clockwork, everyone loses their minds a little. People mock it and line up for it in the same breath. A seasonal coffee should not be able to stir this much feeling, and the fact that it does is the
whole point.

The secret is that it is barely about coffee. Three forces are doing the real work under the foam, and once you see them, you can enjoy the cup without the shame or the eye-roll.

Be honest: first-day-of-fall spiced latte person, or proud eye-roller? No judgment here.

Why the seasonal spiced latte has such a grip on us: limited-time scarcity, the deep nostalgia of warm spice, the comfort of ritual, and the quiet pull of belonging.

09/15/2026

Kids always know who actually cares.

I got more personal in this one than I usually do, but the heart of it is a practical skill: de-escalation. When a child is at their worst, getting louder almost always pushes them farther away. What actually works is quieter, and more learnable, than that.

I wrote it for parents, and for the teachers, coaches, and therapists in kids' lives. Connection before the ask, the closer-or-farther test, the 5-to-1 ratio, and a toolbox for the moment:
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/leading-with-care

Which one lands most for you?

Children sense which adults truly care, and lead with care rather than force. A clinical psychologist on de-escalation, the five-to-one ratio, felt safety, and why a restraint is a failure to de-escalate.

09/14/2026

New article: The Psychology of Being Between Jobs.
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/being-between-jobs

I wrote it for anyone who's out of work, job searching, or scared to leave a job that no longer fits.

The short version: what you're feeling isn't weakness, and it isn't just about the money. A job quietly gives us structure, people, purpose, a sense of place, and a reason to get up, and losing it takes all of that at once. The shame that follows is common and human, and far too many people carry it alone.

If someone you love is in this season, feel free to pass it along.

09/09/2026

I'm a child psychologist, and screen time is hard in my house too.

I say that because most parents are quietly blaming themselves for a fight that was rigged from the start. When a kid can't put the tablet down, it isn't weak character. These apps are designed to be nearly impossible to stop, with no built-in finish line. Willpower was never going to be enough, for them or for us.

What actually helps is structure, not lectures: predictable limits, a clear "we stop here" cue, and screens that sleep outside the bedroom.

So I put it all in one place, a guide for the school year plus a tool to build limits as a family:
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/screens-during-the-school-year
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/parenting-help/screen-time

What's working in your house this fall? I'd love to hear.

09/09/2026

The Tuesday after a long weekend might be the hardest school day of all.

Here's why: over the weekend, everyone's nervous system got to relax — later bedtimes, fewer demands, more downtime. Going back means walking into early alarms, structure, and a full social load all at once. Kids regulate through routine, so when the routine breaks and snaps back, the feelings get big and the behavior wobbles.

That meltdown at breakfast isn't your kid backsliding. It's re-regulation, and it passes faster with connection than with pressure.

Inside Out says it beautifully: the feelings need to be felt and named before anyone can settle. My one tip this week — connect first, then rebuild the routine gently. A psychologist's look at the film:
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/psychology-of-inside-out

How's your crew doing with the back-to-school reset? I'd love to hear.

09/02/2026

The Sunday Scaries are real, and this time of year they hit hard.

You feel the mood shift on Sunday evening. Or it's 7:30 on a school morning and there's suddenly a stomachache that clears up by ten. If your kid gets anxious about school, you know the rhythm.

Two things worth knowing:

Anxiety is loudest before the thing, not during it. That's why a child can be in tears at drop-off and happily playing twenty minutes later. And the stomachaches aren't made up. Worry lives in the body.

The move that feels kindest, letting them stay home or answering the same worry question for the tenth time, quietly makes it stronger. Avoidance is anxiety's favorite food.

What actually helps is smaller and steadier: name the feeling and show confidence in the same breath. "I know this is hard, and I know you can handle it." Then one small brave step, not a big leap.

New in my Back to School series: why the worry spikes before school, how to help without feeding it, and a family talk guide to do it together.

https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/back-to-school-anxiety-sunday-scaries

08/31/2026

It's football season and the first weeks of school, which makes this a perfect one to watch with your kids this weekend: Remember the Titans.

On the surface it's a feel-good sports movie. Underneath, it's one of the clearest examples I know of how prejudice actually breaks down. It doesn't happen because someone tells people to get along. It happens when they work toward a shared goal, as equals, side by side, with leadership that expects it. That's how a divided team slowly learns to see the person instead of the category.

As our kids walk into new classrooms and new teams this fall, that's a message worth talking about together.

I broke down the psychology behind it here, The Psychology of Remember the Titans: Learning to See Each Other:
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/psychology-of-remember-the-titans

Watch it as a family, then talk about it. 💚

08/25/2026

Back to school is exciting, and also a lot for a little nervous system.

If your child is melting down after school, fighting bedtime, or dreading that first bell, you are not doing anything wrong. That is a tired, overwhelmed brain, not a bad kid.

I made a free Back-to-School Calm Kit for the five things I hear about most this time of year:

First-day nerves and not wanting to go
Getting the routine back
Homework without the battle
The after-school meltdown
Helping a shy kid find their people

It is free, quick to read, and full of things you can try tonight. Read it here:
https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/back-to-school-calm-kit

Know a parent heading into a rocky September? Share it with them.

08/20/2026

Back-to-school also means back to the lunchroom politics, and for a lot of kids that's the nerve-wracking part.

Mean Girls shows it well: Cady is a good kid who gradually acts more like the group she's trying to join. Totally normal at that age.

As a psychologist and a parent, my one tip: you can't pick their friends, but you can ask a simple question now and then, "who do you feel most like yourself around?" A psychologist's take on the film:

https://www.psychologistforparenting.com/articles/psychology-of-mean-girls