Most adults remember, at age fourteen, waiting with bated breath at the doorway of the driver’s license office, imagining what it will feel like to walk back out to the parking lot with a learner’s permit, restricted license, or the holy grail of a full driver’s license. My first time I showed up without my…
Category: Parenting
How to Find a Good Therapist, Especially for ADHD
Dear Dr. Wes: What tips do you have for finding a good therapist, particularly for a child with ADHD? Thanks, Simon This is an issue of great interest to many readers, Simon. So, I’m going to answer it more generally and then add in a few specifics about ADHD kids and families. First, consider consulting your…
Get Out of the Divorce and Custody Trenches
Parenting can be much like the old Peace Corps slogan, “The toughest job you’ll ever love.” It can also be natural, easy and seamless, except for when it is not. Consistency serves as one of the most crucial and useful parenting tools and can be one of most elusive as well. Consistency can be difficult…
Eating Disorders: More than Skin Deep
At this point, most people are able to agree that social media, photoshop, fad diets, and the traditional gaunt runway model’s body type contribute to unrealistic expectations of how our bodies “should” look and what it means to be beautiful. And as more and more celebrities, adults, parents, and teenagers discuss their struggles with eating…
Can a School Require My Child to Take Medication?
Dear Dr. Wes: I heard you on Up to Date with Steve Kraske talking about IEPs, 504s, and student improvement plans and medication management with psychotherapy. The school told us that if my child didn’t take medication, he’d be kicked out of elementary school. Can they do that? Dear Listener: The short answer is “no.” No school…
How Teens Use Selfies and Social Media to Enhance or Degrade Self-Esteem
Teens and young adults love to post moments from their daily lives on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, and a few even still use Facebook, though for most that’s something us old folks like to tinker with. But parents and many family psychologists wonder whether posting a teen’s best, most glamorous moments, and most perfectly filtered portraits only serves to…
KCUR Up to Date: Thirteen Reasons Why...And Why Not
We had a great on-air conversation about Thirteen Reasons Why on Kansas City Public Radio as the film and controversy continue to draw considerable attention. While I remain convinced that this is an important, if imperfect, tool for discussing a broad array of teen issues, I’ve heard some very intelligent dissent. Very little of it…
KCUR Up to Date: Having a Genuine Conversation with Your Teen
We often think of parents and children as existing on opposite sides of a wide communication gap built of generational misunderstandings. Too often that gap leads both parents and kids to simply avoid what they both see as awkward conversations about sexuality, substance abuse, and even simple topics like school performance and peer relationships. When…
Thirteen Reasons Why: Fox 4 Morning Show Extended Facebook Interview
The response to our broadcast interviews about the Netflix miniseries Thirteen Reasons Why was so strong during the 9:00am hour on April 27th, that Mark Alford and I decided to move the conversation on to Facebook, where we took questions from a number of viewers. Mark asked some great questions and we therefore didn’t get…
Fox 4 Morning Show: Thirteen Reasons Why
On Thursday April 27, 2017 I joined Kim Nick Vasos and Kim Byrnes to discuss the Netflix original series Thirteen Reasons Why. TV is always an immediate format, and we only decided to do this show on Monday morning. My daughter and I had read the book by Jay Asher back in 2010 while working…