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As parents and caregivers, we all want our children to grow into confident, capable individuals. We know how important it is to foster independence—but let’s be honest, it’s not always easy. I still remember when my son was little and refused to put on his shoes before preschool. My...

Welcome to a new year of school. As we settle into this new year some children (and parents/caregivers) may be feeling a range of emotions. All feelings are completely ok. Some children may feel a little anxiety especially with the change from being with family in the summer to...

As a parent, you may already be familiar with the morning scramble to get your child out the door, the forgotten homework, or the bedtime struggle that seems to last forever. These challenges can be due to underdeveloped executive functioning skills—the mental processes that help us plan, focus attention,...

Screen time with children is an important topic that we are all faced with in our current society. I recently attended a workshop about digital safety and gained some new insights for my own family that I wanted to share with you. Health Implications: Excessive screen time can have...

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a wonderful winter break. Over the break I read the book “The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins. It was a very interesting read, and I personally learned a lot from the book. At the end, there are bonus chapters, and...

“I am not smart”, “I always finish last”, “I don’t look as good as ______.” Do these comments sound familiar? These types of comments can be very hard to hear as a parent. We all want our kids to have self-confidence. First of all, if this is your child,...

Chores! Why are they important for children to learn? Research tells us that children who do chores have increased self-esteem, are more responsible, are better equipped to deal with frustration, and delayed gratification. We also know that teaching children how to do chores helps them learn time management skills,...

Anxiety is a huge topic in mental health. It has become even more prevalent since the pandemic. Sometimes anxiety gets confused with fear. Fear is the emotional response to a real or perceived imminent threat. Anxiety is the anticipation of future threat. Both are healthy in doses but can...

Hello Brentwood Park families! Welcome back to a new school year! I am excited to be back at Brentwood Park this year as the school counsellor with my days at the school being the same (Tuesday-Friday). We have many returning families, some that have moved on to other schools,...

Screen safety and managing screen time is a huge topic for every parent/caregiver these days. I know that in my household, there are many discussions with my husband and my children about what screen time looks like, what apps and programs are age appropriate, and safety around online use....