Blog | Families Thrive

Wheel of Awareness

This is a meditation offered by the neuroscientist and family practitioner, Dan Siegel. His research and teachings on neuroscience and its connection to how we develop and connect as human beings is phenomenal. I believe his work is paradigm changing similar to how Freud, Dr. Spock, Carl Rogers, and the Sears family have influenced cultural thinking in earlier decades. Neuroscience does not explain everything but it does open up understandings that we did not have even 10 or 20 years ago and Dan Siegel is a master of integrating neuroscience into other aspects of our lives. I highly recommend any of his books or You Tube videos on parenting and being a fully developed human being (of which t

Play is the Elixir of Life

There is lots of research to support the idea that dedicated and regular parent/child play time (on the child's terms) supports positive attachment, self-regulation, self-esteem, and creativity. It's also a lot of fun once you get into the swing of it. In my experience working with families, there are three things that fundamentally support you and your child as a co-regulating team: 1) parents structuring 30 minutes of one on one "child directed" play, 3 times per week with their child; 2) a parent/child collaborative family meeting once a week, and 3) a once a day breathing, positive visualization or other mindfulness practice for your child either at bedtime or during a rest period. These

Helpful Ideas from NYT Parenting

The Miraculous Value of Child-Directed Play Time

Summerville 2019!

Wheel of Awareness

Play is the Elixir of Life