Children's Issues Archives - Page 5 of 9

Dads Should Work Harder on Forming Bonds with Their Children

Father’s Day Advice To Dads: Talk less and listen more To Your Children

dads children While parents worry about the impact of peers, technology or a crass culture, teens consistently report that their moms and dads exert the most important influence in their lives.

Moms trump dads when it comes to importance, with 47 percent of kids reporting that moms are their most influential relationships, compared to only 20 percent for dads. Why do kids feel that way?

Part of this may be due to the number of families headed up by moms, who are in charge of 75 percent of single-parent families. Kids just don’t have much access to their dads.

Even in two-parent families, children have little routine contact with their fathers. While this has changed dramatically in the past 50 years, research indicates that moms still spend twice as much time caring for kids as do dads.

The issue isn’t just the amount of time that dads spend with their children. Kids tell me they feel closer to their moms for the following reasons.

Moms are nicer. Kids generally describe their moms as more positive and less reactive. Kids generally feel they get in more trouble with

What to Do When Therapy Doesn’t Work

Sometimes psychotherapy just doesn’t help in spite of a cooperative child, supportive family and a competent professional. This is a very frustrating situation, not only for the family seeking help but also for the therapist. We’d all like to think that with persistence and professional competence, we have the skills to help any youngster with mental problems.

When a child’s problems don’t diminish, psychologists are ethically required not to continue doing something that doesn’t work. I typically change approaches to better engage the parent and child. If there continues to be no progress, here are the options I present to the family:

Change therapists. Sometimes there is just not a good connection between a youngster and their therapist. This may be due to issues of gender, style, age, or race. I can’t honestly say that I have liked every child or parent that I’ve ever worked with over the years, and sometimes those feelings may be evident during our sessions. This transition is usually difficult for kids, who may interpret a change in therapists as yet another rejection.
Involve your child in special activities. Some of the best therapists I’ve ever met have been Boy Scout leaders, sports coaches and

Name Change For Child – Disputes Between Unmarried Parents

General Factors Ohio Courts Consider When Unmarried Parents Clash Over A Child’s Name Change

The process of changing your child’s last name (name change) can be quite involved. If there is a dispute between unmarried parents as to their child’s surname, there are some general name change factors that Courts in Ohio consider.

Changing the Name of a Juvenile Child

Bobo v. Jewell, the court described their review process for determining the surname of a child born to unmarried parents. The elements to be considered in a name change were:

Length of time that the child has used a surname;
The effect of a name change on the father-child relationship and on the mother-child relationship;
The identification of the child as part of a family unit;
The embarrassment, discomfort or inconvenience that may result when a child bears a surname different from the custodial parents;
The preference of the child if the child is of an age and maturity to express a meaningful preference; and,
Any other factor relevant to the child’s best interest. Courts should consider only those factors present in the particular circumstances of each case.

Timothy Bobo and Christina Jewell had a child while unmarried. Their … Read More... “Name Change For Child – Disputes Between Unmarried Parents”

Extracurricular Activities Can Benefit Kids!

Study Reveals Children Who Participate In Extracurricular Activities Are Less Likely To Dropout Than Students Who Did Not Participate

Extracurricular activities can have a significant impact on your child starting at an early age. Not only can these activities increase their capacity to advance academically, but they can create a healthy, confident young individual. Recent studies have looked into how children react when they’re put into extracurricular activities. You may find yourself believing that your child has no interest in extracurricular activities, but there are numerous activities your child could get involved in, including sports, music, book clubs, religious groups, game groups (board games and such), study groups, and countless others.

Study Results On Extracurricular Activities

In 1995, Ralph McNeal conducted a dropout percentage study to attempt to find coinciding evidence of children participating in extracurricular activities and a reduction in their dropout rates. His findings were significant. McNeal concluded that children who participate in athletics are 40 percent less likely to drop out than children who did not participate in extracurricular activities. He also concluded that a person who participates in any type of fine art extracurricular activity is 15 percent less likely to drop out than … Read More... “Extracurricular Activities Can Benefit Kids!”

Privacy: Should I Blog About My Child’s Life On The Internet?

Consider Kids’ Privacy Before Posting Online

privacy The genesis of the article evolved out of conflict I have seen over the past several years with divorced parents arguing about the scope of their child’s internet presence. Typically, this comes up when one parent is freely posting pictures of their child all over the internet or blogging about their child’s personal foibles, which before the explosion of social media would have likely been kept quiet inside the family. I decided to reach out to several psychologists to get their perspective on this controversial subject. I also sought their critique on the language I had drafted to include in Shared Parenting Plans of divorcing parents designed to protect their child’s online privacy rights.

Dayton child psychologist Dr. Gregory Ramey, who has been a guest contributor to the Ohio Family Law Blog since 2007, was very enthusiastic about the topic. Below is his article from the February 3, 2013, edition of the Dayton Daily News.

Do Mommy Bloggers Post Too Much?

Regular readers of this column know that I rarely relate incidents about my own three children. The reason is simple. Their right to privacy is more important than my need to tell an … Read More... “Privacy: Should I Blog About My Child’s Life On The Internet?”

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatments Effective?

A New Study Suggests that Psychological Therapies Improve Life for Children with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent in children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events such as child abuse, violence, road accidents or natural disasters. In children, post-traumatic stress disorder can lead to delayed development and behavioral problems. More generally, it is associated with anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies. The aim of this review was to examine the effectiveness of all psychological therapies for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents.

In this first systematic review of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young people age three to eighteen, researchers found that children diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder showed signs of improvement up to three months following treatment. The psychological therapies used in the review were cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure-based, psychodynamic, narrative, supportive counseling, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).

However, no systematic review analyzing the potential benefits of these therapies has been undertaken until now. This review published in The Cochrane Library focused on 14 studies that together involved 758 children aged 3-18 suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to sexual abuse, violence, road accidents or natural disasters.

Child Abuse: Non-Abused Siblings Who Remain at Home

child abuse A recent study identifies the nation’s most dangerous traffic intersection. It’s at Flamingo Road and Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The insurance company’s engineer who compiled the report notes that the intersection meets appropriate design standards and is regulated by traffic lights. He said traffic volume and driver error were two important factors in the high number of crashes.

Child Abuse and the Dangerous Child Protective Services Intersection

One of the most dangerous intersections of every state’s child welfare system is the decision whether to remove or leave non-abused siblings in a home in which another sibling has been a victim of child abuse or neglect. Like the dangerous intersection in Pembroke Pines, CPS workers often face high caseloads (“traffic volume”) and constant life-threatening decisions (the possibility of “driver error”).

A Pennsylvania case involved “an appeal from the determination of dependency where the adoptive father committed sexual child abuse upon one of the children. The trial court removed the victim child from the home, placed her into foster care while allowing the non-abused child to remain under court ordered protective supervision in the parents’ home.” The Pennsylvania court wrestled with this … Read More... “Child Abuse: Non-Abused Siblings Who Remain at Home”

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