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Parental Influence We wanted to be “big” so much when we were growing up. We wanted to be an adult, to be able to go and do whatever we wanted to do. As girls, we dressed up in mummy’s high heels, threw scarf over our heads and pretended it was hair flowing down to our buttocks. We watched in awe as our fathers drove the car or as our mothers cooked meals. Who did we want...

I’m sure many of us have grown up hearing the term, “put yourself in someone else’s shoes”. In other words, empathy involves attempts to understand someone else’s perspective or experience and how they may be feeling. However, research by Psychologist Mark Davis suggests that this is only one type of empathy. He identified three main types, including the Cognitive or...

Being a victim of bullying is a heavy burden to bear. Being constantly preyed upon can weaken one’s mental strength and sense of resilience; leaving them in a pool of hopelessness, and a small ball of anxiety. The topic of bullying has been on the lips of many, and is a conscious concern for parents and caregivers. The reality is, bullying is very much present in our Jamaican/Caribbean...

  WEIGHT GAIN & GROWTH The relationship between weight gain and growth begins at conception and continues through adolescence. From birth to the first year of life is a period of rapid weight gain and growth. The general guidelines for growth in the first year of life are: Weight baby loses 5-10% of birth weight in the first week and regains this by 2-3 weeks birth weight is doubled...

Sleep is an active function which our body requires for optimal performance. The body has a sleep cycle; while we sleep several tasks are operating simultaneously such as processing, restoration and strengthening. I bet you thought you were dead asleep! Poor sleep hygiene can affect our state of well-being resulting in an increased risk for physical and mental illnesses such as heart...

It can be difficult to figure out if a behaviour that you are noticing (or not noticing!) in your child needs special attention. Is it a phase? Will they grow out of it? Am I worrying too much?  All our children have their own individual personalities and preferences, strengths and challenges, so how do we know when an issue is concerning enough to seek help?   PARENT CHECK: One way of...

Helping professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers and mental health professionals are all guided by the ethical standard of confidentiality. In a nutshell, confidentiality is considering everything a client or patient shares in the session sensitive, private, privileged information, and not suitable or allowable for sharing with others –without consent. There are however...

One of the age old phrases that most of us grew up hearing as young children is “Reading maketh the man”. It was drilled into our heads that to do anything meaningful, and succeed at school and life, literacy skills were critical! According to the Oxford Dictionary online, literacy is defined as “the ability to read and write”, and I would add, “The ability to read and write, at least at...

Children today spend less time engaging in outdoor play and  physical activity, and a lot more time indoors in front of one screen or another, whether TV, computer, tablet, smartphone or video game.  On a local TV children’s quiz show, the hobby most claimed by participants is “surfing the net.” As children’s physical activity and outdoor play have declined, there has been evidence of...

It’s that time of year when we consult school lists and rush around trying to get everything into place for the coming year. While in the process of organizing all the material necessary for a successful year, it may be helpful to build habits and routines that can ensure long-lasting success. The following steps may seem simple but have proven to help children not only do well in school...