As a researcher who studies adolescent alcohol use and its associated problems, I frequently talk to parent groups, and inevitably, I get asked a question like this: “Isn’t part of the problem that in the United States, we make alcohol…
Every day, Americans are inundated with approximately 4,000 media messages. Many of the messages target our kids with distorted ideas about how they should look and act. Kids of all ages and adults often perceive messages and images on social…
It’s a familiar story I hear from parents. My teenager’s room is a wreck. There’s laundry everywhere, dishes under the bed, and she can never seem to find anything. She’s having trouble keeping track of assignments, always procrastinates, and can’t…
You’re at a wellness check-up for your son, Tommy, and much of the visit has been spent catching up with the doctor about your trip to Yosemite, Tommy’s recent soccer tournament, and the fact that he’s getting pimples. Tommy mentions…
It was one of those freak accidents that you hear about. John, a local professional from Richmond, was in a big box store when a steel display sign hanging from the ceiling suddenly broke and came crashing down on his…
What if I told you there was one thing you could teach your kids to help reduce stress, relieve anxiety, improve focus, and tame tempers? That’s right. There is one thing that achieves all of that – and it requires…
It’s frightening, really. One day, you wake up and your child seems like a different child. He’s scared to be left alone, refuses to eat foods he used to love, talks about death and other strange things, and blinks sixty…
A few years ago, a video Snap was made public where white students from an area middle school held down African American students in sexually explicit positions while making racist remarks. Naturally, parents were appalled. Social media responses like “This…
Since the early 2010s, screen use has increased significantly with the rise of smartphones and similar digital tech that enables easy access to entertainment media, such as the Internet, social media, video games, and online movies and videos. Because of the…
Talking about suicide saves lives. Comprehensive studies by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health have been conducted addressing that point alone. The results are irrefutable and worth repeating: Thoughtful conversation about suicide saves lives. Although…
