By Carolyn Knarr, MSW, LCSW, Director of Children’s Therapeutic Services The number one complaint I hear from most children is that their parents yell too much. Being a parent myself, I know why parents yell: their children don’t listen, they don’t handle their responsibilities, they don’t respond unless you raise your voice, and they can be quite irritating!  Talk to your child about the fact that they don’t respond unless you yell (and even then, just sometimes). Tell them you don’t want to yell. Ask them what they suggest so that you don’t have to yell. Below  is an example of a conversation you might have: Parent: “Kelly, I notice…

By Carolyn Knarr, MSW, LCSW, Director of Child Therapeutic Services One of the most important parenting skills is helping children learn to calm down when they are upset. A child can go from calm to out of control in  five seconds or less! The more escalated the child’s emotions and behavior are, the more calm the adult needs to be. Responding with a lecture or with more intensity will quickly create a power struggle. When a child is “having a meltdown,” he* isn’t thinking with his frontal cortex, which is the rational, problem-solving part of his brain. He is responding with his amygdala, which is the emotional, fight or flight…