7 Ways to Beat the Holiday Blues

Holiday Blues

7 Steps to Beat the Holiday Blues

The holidays are filled with images of a great tasting turkey, a white Christmas, a perfectly decorated house and warm family gathering. But those dreams of a perfect holiday gathering can quickly become nightmares — leading to bouts of depression, says Jay Zimmerman, a staff psychologist with Ball State’s Counseling Center.

“The holidays are very stressful because people want the holidays to be perfect,” Zimmerman says. “Many people have images of perfect family gatherings based on hopes or what they see on television. That puts us under a great deal of pressure.”

Other factors contributing to a more stressful holiday season this year may be the loss of a job by a family member or other economic concerns or having a friend or relative in the military stationed in a war zone.

8 Tips to Consider When Buying Developmental Toys

8 Tips to Consider when Buying Developmental Toys

8 Questions to Ask Yourself When Purchasing Developmental Toys

With so many options, which developmental toys are the best for helping kids learn and develop while having fun? Pediatric occupational therapists say developmental toys that focus on motor skill development, cognitive learning provide best value when it comes to kids.

Bullying – The Buck Stops With You

Using Positivity to Stop Bullying - Group of Kids

Helping Your Kids Focus on the Positive to Stop Bullying

by Terri Fedonczak

The foundation of bullying and competition are the same: disconnection. Whether it’s a passive aggressive derision or a physical confrontation, the basis is a disconnection from what makes us human…loving kindness. The answer isn’t to focus on the tragedy of disconnection; it’s to foster connection. You don’t stop evil by blowing it up into something terrifying with dramatic headlines, you stop it by giving it a hug, patting it on the head and giggling about why it ever existed in the first place. When we can stop looking at bullying as an evil monster that is impossible to slay, we can begin to shrink it down to size.