Improving Children’s Working Memory

There are many reasons that children struggle in the classroom. Their ability to learn is affected by a wide range of emotional and cognitive factors and parents also struggle as they seek to help their children succeed. Some of these children may need help improving their working memory. “Working memory is like a mental workspace,”…

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Hand Washing: How Much is Too Much?

Washing your hands – often – is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of colds, flu, food-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases. But just as there are many people who would do well to consistently heed that advice, there are many who don’t need to be reminded. They are the ones who…

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Sport Psychology: Who Is It For and What Can It Do?

Every sports fan knows of high-profile instances when elite professional athletes suddenly and inexplicably seemed to lose the ability to execute even the most basic tasks on the playing field, maneuvers that are typically second nature to them: the major league infielder who can’t throw accurately to first base; the basketball star who can’t make…

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Enjoying the Years with Your Teen: Tips for Parents

Many parents expect the teenage years to be a trial they will have to endure. They’ve been warned that their previously successful parenting strategies are about to become useless and their previously delightful, loving children are about to become moody, uncommunicative strangers. “Expecting the worst in the teen years can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” says…

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ADHD in Adults: Coping Strategies in the Workplace

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is well recognized and now commonly diagnosed in children. It is estimated that between 3% and 10% of school-age children exhibit the hyperactivity, inattention and impulsiveness that characterize the disorder. Less attention has been focused on the fact that for about half of those children, the symptoms continue into adulthood.  “Many…

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Tips for Parents about Concussions in Children

While the number of children and adolescents treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, has increased dramatically over the last ten years, the increase isn’t necessarily bad news. More children are showing up at emergency rooms at least in part because parents, coaches and pediatricians have become more…

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Helping Children Manage Frustration

Frustration is inevitable for young children. There are shelves that can’t be reached, shoes that can’t be tied, baseballs that can’t be hit and parents and other adults saying “no” to a child’s most fervent desires. Frustration isn’t necessarily a negative emotion. Dealt with constructively, it can help children learn to overcome obstacles and tolerate…

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