What is happening at Families In Focus.
The blog submission for 5/25/2011 on Parenting Teens was written by Ken Barrett, MSW, LCSW If you have questions about this area, please feel free to call Families In Focus at 636-928-5800 and ask to speak with a therapist.
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When parenting your teen there are four main areas you want to consider negotiating with him/her: Their Room; Appearance; School Work; Peers. You want each area to reflect as much of your teens efforts and personality as possible. Some safety issues may arise and this would obviously not be negotiable. Body piercings, dangerous peers and truancy are all examples of behaviors that are non-negotiable. Drugs, alcohol and self injurious behavior are not negotiable because danger is imminent. And, in these circumstances professional help should be sought. A boy who only […]
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Jacqueline Kennedy said, “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all." It seems like these days many kids are glued to playing video games or watching TV or constantly texting friends. Nothing objectionable with any of these activities. It seems like of one of things that may get lost in a child’s life is reading books. Reading is one of my favorite things to do. I enjoy learning about life through the eyes of another person/character or simply […]
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In our hectic lives, it seems like we're constantly having to take care of this and that on top of about a million other things and especially more so when we have families. I've run across quite a few busy people and ask them "When do you have time to take care of yourself?" Their response is a common "Oh, that's selfish" or "I would feel guilty if I didn't help others". Often times they put themselves on the back burner, not realizing that they are probably exhausted or burned […]
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Would you volunteer 2 – 3 hours to participate in a research study? We have an opportunity for participants age 6 and older to volunteer. Volunteers will sign a consent form and fill out some basic information. If the volunteer is under 18, the parent will sign. If the basic information fits the profile that the test publisher needs, we call the volunteer and schedule the appointment. The research study involves taking some tests related to education and cognition. All information is strictly confidential. Participants who complete the tests receive a […]
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I enjoy eating Japanese food. Tempura, yakisoba, tonkatsu, miso soup. Pretty tame if you ask me. When I would eat out with my friends, they would order sushi. I couldn't justify eating raw fish. I feared the taste and getting sick. After I got married, my husband and I had dinner at Crazy Sushi in St. Peters. He also had never tried sushi. We decided "what they heck, let's give it a try." So we dug in and we have loved sushi and sashimi ever since then. The point in […]
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Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrong. -Charlotte Bronte Forgiveness it turns out is not only good for the soul (1) (1) (1).docx Download this file
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As a parent of a soon-to-be two year old, I'm constantly having to watch him, especially when he does things I'm not too fond of. These behaviors include throwing things down the stairs, marking up the furniture with a ballpoint pen, and chewing on various objects. Sometimes I get just a little aggravated with such behaviors. Nonetheless, I have to remind myself that my son has many wonderful qualities and communicate that with him. We have a choice as parents – focusing on the negative behaviors (of course, they […]
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Trauma Education I recently went to a seminar on trauma. Trauma is a near death experience such as a car accident, almost drowning, seeing a person actually die. Unfortunately, life encounters lend themselves to trauma. Trauma is accompanied by symptoms which can occur in the form of behavior and in a physical form. Angry outbursts, being unable to get along with others and drug abuse can be examples trauma based behavior. Poor sleep, anxiety, and hyper awareness to name a few are examples of physical signs of trauma. And, fear […]
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Recently, I had the opportunity to help one of my good friends. She and her husband will be adopting a special needs boy in China. For the past three years they have been praying and raising money to make the adoption happen. I recently read a newspaper article about their latest garage sale and their blog site describing their journey. After reading their story, I felt compelled to help my friend. I figured why not? In the past, I have helped others through volunteer work whether taking calls at a crisis hotline center, packing […]
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