I see the influence of “devices” every day on kids. I base this on my observations over the years of working with parents and children. As a therapist in San Marcos working with elementary school-aged children, I see three ways children are negatively impacted.

As I write this many San Marcos kids have been out of school for a while. For some parents, Back-to-school can’t come quickly enough. When your kids are at camp you try to get as much work done as possible, and when they’re home it feels chaotic.

My list below includes 7 things to remember, contained in the acronym, “RESPOND”. How you purposely choose to respond to your children amid grief, loss, and other stressful events is incredibly important.

In my journey, when I was a younger mom, I experienced health issues. At the time, nothing seemed to help. Then I began working with a nutritionist in Encinitas and it changed so many things.

I recently had the privilege of writing a Guest blog for another therapist in San Marcos, Diana Trevino of Trevino Counseling and Wellness.

The blog shares 6 tips on calmly parenting an anxious child, when you also struggle with anxiety.

Providing children opportunities to make decisions, without parent involvement builds decision-making muscles. With my training in Art Therapy, I often incorporate artmaking into child therapy and family therapy sessions. I find that art-making provides opportunities for children to express their self and communicate what they think and feel.

Guest Author: Irina Baechle, LCSW and licensed relationship therapist.

When you have children, you can count on a certain amount of anxiety. But worry and fear about the well-being of your children can quickly spiral out of control and impair your everyday life, relationships, and welfare.

Homeschooling lends itself to more outside-the-box thinking. Homeschool parents have a unique opportunity to offer a much wider range of creative experiences and art materials even without art experience and a limited budget.

As I have provided therapy for kids, many have wrestled with anxiety, for various reasons. It's not uncommon for kids to have worries about their own safety. They also worry that something bad will happen to their parents. During the pandemic, these fears heightened for many children.

As a therapist who provides therapy for children, here are three myths that I’ve encountered that people sometimes believe about therapy for kids. These myths contribute to families not getting help. They also add to the stigma around mental health treatment.       

The most natural thing when a child is in distress is to help them, to assist them in some way. That help often comes in the form of information, advice, and solutions.  While children may need your information, they first need to feel connected to you.  I don’t know the origin of the idea, but these words have always stuck with me, “Connect before your correct”.  However, it seems for many parents and other adults it’s easier to correct or try to “fix” a child, and then try to connect with them. 

Parenting is hard, so this is definitely not a drive-by-guilting. Sometimes you feel anxious about the things your family, and ultimately your child is going through at school or at home. You wonder if your kid should see a child therapist. One thing I have witnessed over the years is that if a parent can remain relatively calm and take care of themselves, no matter what the issue, their kids cope better.

Your child loves art.

As a parent, you want to connect more, but art is just not your thing. On top of that, you know that creating art has the potential for a lot of mess, and frankly, it just feels overwhelming.

I know many parents feel uncomfortable with making art or handling art materials at home. There can be an element of chaos and mess that can feel overwhelming. If this, is you, read on!

Yes, you read that right…ways you can increase your child’s anxiety. I really wish when my children were younger someone would have told me that as a parent I may be at times my child’s greatest source of anxiety.

While the end of school is not here yet, I know if you're a parent you’re beginning to think about summer, and so is your child. There are so many things to do in Encinitas, and so much beauty to enjoy. However, the logistics of summer can really cause some uneasiness as you survey the calendar.

For several years, I worked as a Marriage & Family Therapist and a Registered Art Therapist in San Diego with an organization that provides emergency safe housing for people escaping intimate partner violence. Most are women with children. I want to share a few things that I learned from those brave families that may help you as you are dealing with a stay-at-home order or “sheltering in place” with your children.

You may be caught up in worry. Your kids may feel isolated. We all have less contact with the world. Seeing people in a zoom call is flat, and you can’t hug them. Masked people can’t see one another’s smile. With a mask, I can’t smell the lemons or the bakery items at the store. It all makes it more difficult to be grounded and present in this moment.

Right now there is so much our children don’t understand about what is going on, but as parents, we can make a difference in how our children remember this time in history. So, while we are being told to cover our faces for the common good, here are my three tips, offered with an abundance of care.