family dynamics – Penfield Children's Center

August 12, 2015Family Dynamics, Home & Family, Kohl’s Building Blocksbehavior, discipline, family, family dynamics, kidsby Shelby Schnell

Avoiding Power Struggles

“You can’t make me!” screams your expressive child. Your breath quickens, heart rate elevates, blood pressure rises and a throb starts at the temples. At times you may feel like you “have to” make your child do things against her will. Tasks as simple as being asked to brush her …

Helping your Child Deal with Grief

While it is common for children to grieve the death of a loved one, children might also grieve following a divorce or separation, a loved one moving away or moving out of the home or decreased visitations with a loved one. All of these experiences can be considered a “loss.” …

Understanding Your Child’s Behavior

Dealing with challenging behavior can be frustrating and exhausting for parents. Using a combination of positive reinforcement and the appropriate discipline strategy based on the type of the behavior is necessary to improve behavior. But there is a preliminary step that is often overlooked when dealing with challenging behavior—understanding where …

Social and Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning is an important piece of a child’s development. Many parents think of development in terms of a child learning to talk, walk, and become more independent during daily living skills. However, a child’s development is also characterized by learning how to interact with others and appropriately …

Separation Anxiety

Heather Rotolo, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Sarah Wittmann, M.S., Licensed Professional Counselor It is typical and developmentally appropriate for children to experience stress or anxiety when separated from their parents. When children are young, their parent(s) are their secure base and it is difficult for them to understand that, …

Appropriate Play and Activities for a Baby

A parent may wonder what kind of toys or activities are important for his/her baby’s development. The answer to that question is simple: parents are the most important people in a baby’s life and can never replace even the most technologically advanced toy or activity. Today’s technology has transformed the …

Our five senses – vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste – help us learn about and move through our world. But, did you know there are two more senses that we employ every day? They are called vestibular and proprioception. The vestibular sense makes us aware of our head. It …

The Mother-Child Relationship

Mothers and their children are connected even before birth. All those months spent together mark the beginning of a sometimes challenging, yet rewarding, relationship. Moms have an important role in their child’s mental health because they provide basic necessities (i.e. food, water, shelter, and sleep) and form a secure attachment …

The Father-Child Relationship

One in three American children does not live with their biological father.* In the inner-city, these numbers are often much higher. From a mental health perspective, children without fathers are at-risk for a variety of social/emotional concerns. These include: Poor school performance Drug use Teen pregnancy Crimes and violent acts …

The Importance of Family Time

Family time is important. It increases a family’s bond, communication and health and well-being. However, with dual income homes, extracurricular activities and weekend events it can be difficult to find time to spend together as a family. Advances in technology have also put constraints on the time that families spend …

Avoiding Power Struggles

Understanding Your Child’s Behavior

Separation Anxiety

Appropriate Play and Activities for a Baby

How to Help Babies Learn Through Their Senses

The Mother-Child Relationship

The Father-Child Relationship

The Importance of Family Time

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