All Stress is Not Distress
At Challenge Success, we sometimes get the question: can’t some forms of stress be okay, or even helpful for students?
Blog Posts
Class Rankings
Denise Pope shares why eliminating class rankings can reduce undue student stress without decreasing engagement.
What Parents Say Matters
When I overheard a troubling conversation at a recent dinner about a child’s academic performance, it reminded me about the importance of the words we use when speaking with our kids
Our Kids Are Listening: Election Results and Rhetoric
My office phone has been ringing lately. A lot. It’s been a while since parents were quite so worried about the impact of media coverage on their children’s mental health.
Pulling Anchor, Setting Sail
I always chuckle at Norman Mailer’s pithy depiction of masculine rivalry: “When two men stop in the street to say hello … one of them loses.” But it would not be difficult to extrapolate a bit and substitute “parents” for “men.”
Calling Into Question
We are all familiar with the adage, “Ask a silly question, you’ll get a silly answer.” The questions that parents ask children are worth considering because the depth of the questions that we present to them correspond closely with the depth of self-awareness and understanding that will be engendered by those questions.
Sending Our Kids to College and the Goldilocks Dilemma
Since my last few weeks have been spent listening, sympathizing, educating, and mostly reassuring parents whose first (or second or third) child has left for college, this column …
Playing at Sports
As a clinical child psychologist interested in youth sports, I’ve seen a huge cultural shift in the meaning and culture of youth sports. Parents have noticed it, schools have noticed it, and psychology researchers have noticed it.
Don’t Forget To Bring a Doorstop
The most important piece of advice my oldest daughter and I heard when she was packing for college was: Don’t forget to bring a doorstop.
De-bunking College Admission Myths
When some parents and students refer to March Madness, they aren’t necessarily talking about basketball. They are referring to this particularly stressful time of year when college admission decisions arrive via email and snail mail.
Why I Did My Kid’s School Project
Colonial Day at my 4th grader’s school required a period character costume, researched and selected by the students four weeks in advance and was specifically billed as “student-driven, parent-enabled.” Fortunately for this working mom, our school emphasizes the “student-driven” aspect of such projects.
Aristotle and Teaching Swimming
In our confusing and competitive world, it is not easy to discern what responsibilities parents have toward our children. We are often uncertain about when and whether to hold them close or encourage them to explore.