grit Archives | Alison Escalante MD

I am Sick and Tired of Living with Long COVID

Today is International Long Covid Awareness Day, which is why I wrote the article “Long Covid is a disabling disease, and it’s not rare” for Psychology Today. There are millions of people like me, living with the shattering symptoms of Long Covid. Many have been sick and disabled for almost four years now. For me, it’s been over two years since Long Covid stole my career as a pediatric doctor from me.

Parents Can Use The Movie Dune To Help Kids With Fear

When our children are afraid, parents will do whatever they can to help them feel better. If children struggle with fear in an ongoing way, it can create a problem for the whole family. Parents want to both comfort their child and make sure that they gain the skills to manage in the world. But how?

The popular movie Dune holds a surprising answer: the content of the famous Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear. The litany may be fiction, but it’s packed with solid psychological advice. If parents use Dune, they can engage their child’s imagination and teach them how to overcome fear.

Parenting In The Pandemic May Change Our Standards Forever

I just read an article that announced the end of intensive parenting. The idea is that coronavirus lockdown made us all stop doing so much for our kids and start doing the minimum. This made us reevaluate how we are living, and we are going to change forever.

If that’s true than I’ve realized my life’s work and we are all going to be a lot happier! But is the pressure on parents to optimize their children’s development going to evaporate that easily? Based on conversations in my pediatric office, I’m not so sure.

How To Help Kids Stay Connected During COVID-19

This COVID-19 thing is taking a long time. Not that we didn’t expect it to, but still. COVID-19 is a nasty virus and it’s going to continue to be a problem for us for quite some time. Many of us are worried about our kids and how they are doing as the days of isolation drag on. But there are things we can do, and some exciting new science to help.

The Cult of the Early Start

Have you ever worried that your kids are behind? I have. Other people’s kids seem to have accomplished so much already in elementary school. They are on the robotics team, a competition that takes up hours each weekend, while my kids play with legos. They play travel or competition level sports, while my kids seem to keep tripping over their own feet.

Why I Sent My Kids to Summer Camp

It was obviously time for the boys to try sleep away camp, and the camp I chose was only an hour away. At the ages of 8 and 10, and able to go the same week, I knew it was time for my kids to experience the joys of interacting with the woods without their parents hovering. I loved going to summer camp as a kid, and I was sure they were ready for it.

What if I Mess My Kids Up for Life?

One of the women shared that every night she prays, “God, don’t let me mess this child up.” We all immediately jumped in to support her and tell her how that wasn’t going to happen. It’s the truth.

What Effective Parents Do Differently.

The ShouldStorm we face as parents draws its power from hidden beliefs. One of the most problematic of those untrue beliefs is the idea that if we make a mistake we are going to mess our kids up for life. We particularly feel this if we make a mistake consistently.

The Summer of No TV

Creativity and Boredom

Where we grew up, there were still lots of older homes with no central air conditioning. The summers were hot and humid. There were a few activities you could sign up for at the middle school, but they weren’t all day camps. There were morning swimming lessons in the freezing cold community pool, but after that there was not much to do. The kids that were around did tend to spend a lot of time inside using their Nintendo’s. We already knew our mom was a little different from the other moms. She made us eat whole-grain bread and natural peanut butter, and our snacks were pieces of cheese and fruit. We didn’t get free access to hostess cakes like our friends did. Our TV time was limited, and we had never owned a Nintendo.

4 Lessons from a Truly Terrible Cross Country Runner

I always loved my father’s stories about his glory days as a runner. He was tall and lanky, an ideal build for a distance runner. He ran in high school, and he was later recruited as a runner in college. That scholarship was his path to an engineering degree at a good school. He used to love to tell stories about his races. His favorite races were the ones he nearly lost, when he came from behind and sprinted past the leader for the win. For my Dad it was always the joy of the contest.I was just the worst runner. Just terrible.