Category Archives: Reflection Questions

Communicating with your teen

Communicating with Your Teen (Part 2 of 2)

Children, Families, Parents, Reflection Questions

In part one of this series, I shared some helpful tips for communicating with your teen.   In this post, I will be sharing some reflection questions based off of the first post to help come up with a new strategy or approach to use in communicating with your teen about a challenging subject.   The purpose of this exercise is to be more mindful about how we communicate with the teens in our lives.   The result will hopefully be a more effective conversation with your teen, but I do not pretend this approach will make every conversation perfect. Continue reading Communicating with Your Teen (Part 2 of 2) →

parenting quotes

Thought Provoking Parenting Quotes & Reflection Questions

Parents, Quotes, Reflection Questions

As a parent, we are constantly being given messages about what we should or shouldn’t do with our children.     It can certainly become overwhelming.     My approach when working with parents is to share information that I have based on my training and experience, but also to empower parents to reflect on their own experiences and knowledge of their children in order to figure out how the information fits for them.  In today’s post, I am sharing some parenting quotes, but I have also added a twist of including at least one reflection question to consider with the quotes.   Some of the parenting quotes I’ve shared may really connect with you and some may not.   That is ok.   This post is more about the reflection questions than the actual quotes.

Continue reading Thought Provoking Parenting Quotes & Reflection Questions →

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End of the Year Reflection Questions

Counseling, Reflection Questions

A new year is just around the corner.   Although, I am not big on New Year’s Resolutions, I do think there are certain times of the year that lend themselves well to reflection and planning.  The beginning of a new year is one of those times because it is often a time of transition after the holidays.  The beginning of  spring and fall can also be great times for reflection.

Continue reading End of the Year Reflection Questions →

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Stressors & Children

Children, Families, Parents, Reflection Questions, Stressors

How is your stress level right now?  How is your child’s stress level?   We all experience stress at times, including children.    Yes, it is true that children don’t have the same responsibilities as adults, but there are certainly areas of their lives that can cause them stress as well.

Sometimes, as adults, we are not as good about recognizing when the children in our life are experiencing stress.  Some of the areas of life that cause adults stress (ex: relationship difficulties) also cause children stress, but there may be things that cause stress for our children that we as adults don’t even recognize as a stressor.

Continue reading Stressors & Children →

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Thinking Outside of the Box: Creative Ways to Help Children Express Their Emotions (Part 1)

Children, Families, Parents, Reflection Questions

At times, we all experience difficulty in expressing our emotions. It can be especailly challenging for children to express their emotions through words, so I encourage parents to think outside of the box about ways in which they can support their children in expressing their emotions. Continue reading Thinking Outside of the Box: Creative Ways to Help Children Express Their Emotions (Part 1) →

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Change

Move, Reflection Questions

“There is nothing permanent except change.” Heraclitus

Change is on my mind lately.   Mostly because I have a couple of significant changes in the works for my practice over the coming months.  Details of the upcoming changes can be found at the end of this post, but for now let’s reflect on change you and your families may be experiencing.

What changes are you or your loved ones experiencing right now?   Have you allowed yourself or your loved ones the time and space to reflect on, process and adjust to these changes?  Often times, we get caught up in all the details that need to be taken care of and we don’t allow ourselves to truly take the time needed to experience changes and to fully consider the ways we can ensure that a change goes as smoothly as possible for all involved.

Continue reading Change →

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Refining Your Approach to Self Care

Reflection Questions, Self Care

Self care is purposeful action that an individual takes to ensure their well-being.   Well-being can include; emotional health, mental health, physical health, and spiritual health.

What self care looks like is different for each person because we all have unique needs and interests.

We are each at our own place in understanding our self care needs and developing an approach to self care that is effective for us.  Some people are amazing at making self care a priority and others struggle with this area.   Some people can clearly identify their unique needs for self care and others are unsure what is effective for them.  With this in mind, I invite you to consider the following questions in determining how to move forward in your approach to self care. Continue reading Refining Your Approach to Self Care →

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Family Reflection Questions for the New Year

Families, Reflection Questions

The beginning of the year offers an opportunity to reflect back on the previous year and think about the upcoming year.  While people tend to do this type of reflection on an individual basis, the below questions are designed to be considered and discussed as a family.   Depending on the ages of the children involved in the discussion, some of the wording may need to be modified.   The questions can also be modified for shorter periods of time as some children may struggle to reflect on a one year period of time.

Please see the note at the bottom of this post if you are interested in questions for individual reflection.

Continue reading Family Reflection Questions for the New Year →