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(4-minute read) Question: Dear Devora, As far as validating children, what happens when an older girl (6th or 7th grader) has been informed of a class change and she tells her parents, “I’m not going to school.” She is stubborn and manipulative and won’t budge. (She doesn’t want to hear what her parents say… She

(1-minute read) Hi All, Last week we discussed one of the general ways we can be invalidating to children, which does the OPPOSITE of calming kids down. Specifically, we talked about “attempting to talk someone out of their feelings.” This week, I’ll share another way we sometimes do the same thing unwittingly. This time, we

(1-minute read) Of course, we’re trying to savor every relaxed moment, every sunshine, every raindrop (we got plenty of those this summer!), every late night with no worries about being late for the school bus tomorrow, and every no-homework night. But some parents and children are starting to think about school again and some might

(2-minute read) One of my amazing moms wrote this social story for her son last year before major trip. Her son saved it and pulled it out before this year’s major trip as he needed some reminders again. She graciously gave me permission to share it with our fellow parents and professionals. Feel free to

(1-minute read) I was driving home late last night and I stopped at a rest stop. A mom waited patiently for her three young kids to use the restroom. The kids then washed their hands, used the XLERATOR hand dryer, and became enamored by it. The strong hot air, the noise, the automatic sensors, it

(1-minute read) Have you noticed that kids (targets) who get bullied sometimes have these huge reactions which makes the bully want to bully them even more? And, of course, because we care about the target, we tell them, “Just ignore the bully!” But that is so invalidating! The target feels so helpless and hopeless that

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. (1-minute read)                                 OR Some people who took my training years back might remember this one: DWW and DDWD. So what exactly

Here are three more quick tips for a child whom some might describe as “shy. Have a relaxing week! Yours, Dr. Devora

(1-minute read) A few days ago, I visited a camp to do an evaluation and a staff member asked a camper why she did not want to join her sports team. The camper did not answer. The counselor said, “Are you not joining because you’re shy?” I know with 100% certainty that the counselor is