Getting ready for back to school can become a true issue if your child is anxious about school. Research shows that today children are dealing with much higher levels of anxiety compared to kids of previous generations. Some experts call it an epidemic. So it figures that school, being such a big part of children’s lives, would be a source of anxiety for some kids.
We all want our kids to be able to make great decisions when we aren’t around because this is an important life skill. We want them to be able to make decisions that are aligned with their values and our family values because they will need to be able to stand on their own two feet soon enough.
Sometimes we struggle. Our relationship with our partner can become a challenge, our kids feel the effects and we don’t know where to turn. Three things that can make a world of difference are: spending time with other dads, exercising and being in nature.
Life will constantly present us with challenging and difficult situations that will make us feel uncomfortable at times. But it is during these moments where we need to focus on the things that can empower us to feel a little better.
We’ve been hearing a lot in recent years about “erasing the stigma” and talking more openly about mental health issues. This is particularly important with regard to fathers of young children since men are not only at increased risk for depression in the postpartum period, but also less likely than mothers to seek help.
We all know something about stress and that stress can cause problems. But I’m going to offer some ideas about stress that might be new to you. We usually think of stress as something bad, something that causes difficulty or hardship. There is good stress as well as “bad” stress.