An alarming trend has emerged over the past three decades in the United States: children and adolescents are falling victim to a wide array of health problems. According to studies released by the CDC, the Kaiser Foundation, and countless peer-reviewed academic journal publications, data indicate that obesity, asthma, and type 2 diabetes are all on the rise. Not only do these medical conditions degrade a child’s overall quality of life

Your daughter goes on shopping sprees, ordering piles of clothes or accessories she really doesn’t need. Or your son drives erratically, leaving you to hang on for dear life while he speeds down the street. Your teen forgets things everywhere, is extremely spontaneous, and doesn’t think before acting. Or perhaps your son or daughter gets angry at the slightest provocation and won’t let things go…even for weeks. The question is

Your adolescent is upset about something or another. Maybe he or she is crying. You know what the experts say: validate, validate, validate. Because children and teens are not always looking to problem-solve. They’re looking to be validated. But what exactly does it mean to validate, and how do you do it? Dialectical Behavior Therapy suggests that there are six levels of validation. With so many ways to show your