Parenting Archives | Page 2 of 6 | Alison Escalante MD

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.

Research Shows These Parenting Beliefs Help Kids Most

More than anything, parents want to do their best for their kids. But every parent I know lives in the pressures of the ShouldStorm, which bombards them with shoulds. Always telling them what they should and should not be doing to maximize their child’s development.

Now, new research from the University of Chicago has shed light on a sinister way the ShouldStorm actually drives parents to undermine their child’s development, all while thinking they are helping. It all comes down to what parents are told is good for kids.

How Parents Can Help With Kids’ Back To School Anxiety in 2021

For kids, going to school has never felt more uncertain than it does in fall 2021, as they enter their third school year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Will they be able to keep going to school or will their school shut down, as some already are? What if they get COVID, or what if they bring the Delta variant home to siblings too young to be vaccinated? Will they be okay?

Now more than ever, parents need to know how to help their kids navigate all the usual school stress, plus deal with the fear and uncertainty they face during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mom Rage: It’s Okay To Talk About It

Mom rage is something moms don’t talk about. The ShouldStorm tells us we should be patient all the time. But moms feel anger and it’s normal.

As parents, our stress has been through the roof with back to school coming up. We are all wondering how we are going to make this work? But sometimes that stress shows up as anger, and that can make moms feel terrible guilt. It’s time to talk openly about it.

11 Ways to Help Kids with Special Needs or Autism Wear Masks

So many parents are worried that their child with special needs, sensory processing problems or autism will not wear a mask. A school principal shares her secrets.

Parents of kids with special needs are worried about their kids ability to keep masks on at school this year. Kids with sensory processing or autism can really struggle to tolerate something on their face. The good news is that there are ways to help them do it.

Our Kids Will Wear Masks For School Just Fine

Parents are worried about kids wearing masks back to school during the coronavirus pandemic. As a pediatrician I can reassure you that kids can do this.

Parents have been sharing with me their worries that their kids will not be able to tolerate wearing a mask at school. As a pediatrician, I have some reassurance to offer. Children will definitely be able to wear their masks at school during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s going to be okay.

Kids Have Their Own Ideas About Coronavirus

Research shows that kids are active agents in how they handle the coronavirus pandemic, and they want to share their ideas with parents.

It’s not long until the kids go back to school… or don’t. Or go back to a blended schedule with some virtual learning. And if you are like me, you are a parent who is holding your breath to see how this is going to work. Because the coronavirus pandemic has definitely made education challenging. But did you ever think of asking the kids to help you figure it out?

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.

The Ultimate Parenting Checklist

I am so excited to introduce the Ultimate Parenting Checklist: five bits of uncommon wisdom that will make your life as a parent easier.

Being a parent is wonderful, but parenting can be stressful. That stress leads us to “do our research” and hit google. And the internet gives us unending amounts of parenting advice. That’s when it gets confusing. Who should you listen to? What do you do when the advice conflicts?

How To Talk With Your Kids About Racial Injustice (Listen First)

After the murder of George Floyd, parents are wondering how to talk with their kids. This is how to start.

After the murder of George Floyd by police officers, parents are wondering how to talk with their kids. There is no question that we must. Our children need to understand the world we live in. They need to know about our obligation to each other.