Christy Garau is working part-time while she finishes her MSW at IUPUI.  She is the calm, friendly voice that calls to remind people of their appointments.  Christy has experience working with child attachment issues, teenagers and families .

I continue to receive training in play therapy strategies and enjoy developing activities and plans for children, teens and their families. This summer I will be developing materials and sessions for families to help them improve their relationships with one another.  While children benefit from play therapy one-on-one with a play therapist, they often receive greater skills and abilities from family play therapy since they belong to a family.

My office hours change from time to time.  I have office hours Monday-Friday from 9:00am-6:00 pm.

Christy Garau is working part-time while she finishes her MSW at IUPUI.  She is the calm, friendly voice that calls to remind people of their appointments.  Christy has experience working with child attachment issues, teenagers and families .

I continue to receive training in play therapy strategies and enjoy developing activities and plans for children, teens and their families. This summer I will be developing materials and sessions for families to help them improve their relationships with one another.  While children benefit from play therapy one-on-one with a play therapist, they often receive greater skills and abilities from family play therapy since they belong to a family.

My office hours change from time to time.  I have office hours Monday-Friday from 9:00am-6:00 pm.

It has been almost two years since I (Jan Boggs) moved my practice to Columbia City.  It was a great decision and I have thoroughly enjoyed being here.  So, what is new or what has changed?

Christy Garau is working part-time while she finishes her MSW at IUPUI.  She is the calm, friendly voice that calls to remind people of their appointments.  Christy has experience working with teenagers and families.

I continue to receive training in play therapy strategies and enjoy developing activities and plans for children, teens and their families.

My office hours change from time to time.  I have office hours Monday-Friday.

Research shows children lose one to three months of learning every summer. They forget math and reading skills they worked hard to acquire during the school year. Then they have to work even harder to catch up in the fall. You can help prevent this summer learning loss. The tips and strategies in this Reading Is Fundamental guide will help you to motivate your children to continue reading and learning all summer long.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/statistics/index.shtml

Anxiety is your mind and body’s natural response to events or situations that are threatening or that you could perceive as threatening. A certain amount of anxiety can help you to avoid an uncomfortable or unsafe situation or it can help you tackle an unpleasant task that must be accomplished.  Too much anxiety and interfere with your happiness or success.

So…worry and anxiety is normal for everyone, but when it is severe, lasts for several weeks, and includes symptoms that keep you from doing what your usually would, then it may be time to address it by talking with your doctor or mental health therapist.

Anxiety symptoms are real. They are not just in your head. These symptoms can be treated and experiencing these symptoms is nothing to be embarrassed about.

Common Symptoms:

• Worry
• Fears
• Thoughts that don’t go away
• Avoidance of people, places or things
• Compulsions
• Restlessness
• Aches, pains
• Rapid heartbeat
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Faintness
• Dry mouth
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Difficulty concentrating

Feel free to contact me if you have further questions. I will continue to provide information about this common disorder.

Studies by the National Assessment of Educational Progress have consistently found that the more reading material available in the home, the better students’ reading levels are likely to be.

“Families, and parents in particular, play an important part in the [learning to read] process. For decades, research has shown that children whose parents read to them become better readers and do better in school.”  “In 1999, 26 percent of children who were read to three or more times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet compared to 14 percent of children read to less frequently.”

“Children who are read to frequently are nearly twice as likely as other children to show three or more skills associated with emerging literacy.”

(Home Literacy Activities and Signs of Children’s Emerging Literacy, 1993 and 1999, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 2000).

“The availability of books is a key factor in reading literacy. The highest scoring countries typically provide their students with greater access to books in the home, in nearby community libraries and book stores and in the school.” (How In the World Do Students Read, The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 1992).

What’s the plan for dealing with conflict based on obnoxious behavior? It’s simple: explain—if necessary—first, and then if an explanation doesn’t work, count. Your daughter, for example, wants a Twinkie right before dinner. You calmly said “No” and explained your reasoning. She pushes the issue, though, and starts whining. Is another explanation going to pacify her? Not very likely! That kind of parental babbling, remember, is how mini‐conflicts become maxi‐conflicts. Instead, you hold up one finger and say, “That’s 1.” That’s her first warning that she’s out of line. If she hits a “2” and then a “3,” there will be a consequence. If she stops at 1 or 2, fine.

WHAT ABOUT ENCOURAGING GOOD BEHAVIOR?

Sound too simple? It takes about two hours to learn how to count properly and to have all your questions answered about the procedure. What about encouraging good behavior? You want to set up routines for things like bedtime, mealtimes, cleaning rooms and getting up and out in the morning. Your routines will consist of tactics such as praise, kitchen timers, The Docking System, natural consequences, and charting. Routines minimize conflict because you don’t have to discuss and explain each time why something needs to get done. What if the kids argue with you about a routine? They get counted.

Sound too simple? It takes about two hours to learn how to count properly and to haveall your questions answered about the procedure. What about encouraging good behavior? You want to set up routines for things like bedtime, mealtimes, cleaning rooms and getting up and out in the morning. Your routines will consist of tactics such as praise, kitchen timers, The Docking System, natural consequences, and charting. Routines minimize conflict because you don’t have to discuss and explain each time why something needs to get done. What if the kids argue with you about a routine? They get counted.

DON’T YOU WISH THERE WERE A GUIDEBOOK FOR THIS?

Are you feeling like a total dictator at this point? Relax. Keep in mind that good

parents should be demanding—they should expect good behavior from their kids. But good parents also are warm and friendly. They regularly listen to their children and have fun with them. Minimizing conflict means knowing how to handle your three parenting jobs: controlling difficult behavior, encouraging good behavior and strengthening your relationships with your youngsters. Don’t you wish there were a guidebook for this?

There is: Dr. Phelan’s best‐selling, 1‐2‐3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2‐12.

Source:ParentMagic Newsletter by Dr. Thomas Phelan © 2010
Simple, straightforward parenting advice and helpful tips from Dr. Phelan’s award-winning, best-selling 1-2-3 Magic Parenting Program. To learn more visit 123Magic.com .