Ending the Year on a High Note: Taking a Holiday Vacation with the Family

on December 7, 2016 at 7:57 PM /

2016 has been an interesting year to say the least. Not only have several newsworthy things happened since January, life for my entire family has been a rollercoaster ride. In March, my husband had to take a pay cut since his company was downsized. In the summer, our youngest son broke his arm during a football game at a family reunion and needed two surgeries. And last month our daughter was rejected from her top choice university to which she had applied early decision. I’ve done my best to hold the family together to get us through it all, but...

Holiday Mayhem: Dealing with Stress During Your Holiday Planning Efforts

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on November 29, 2016 at 7:48 PM /

I’m definitely not looking forward to the end of December. Each year, my siblings and I take turns hosting our holiday dinners and get-togethers. This year, it’s my turn and I absolutely know that I’ll be pulling my hair out long before family even begins to arrive. First, I have to plan out the dinner, estimate how much to cook since I have such a large family, then I have to complete my gift shopping and finally comes the planning for family members who will be staying with us for a few days. It’s gotten so overwhelming that my husband...

Thanksgiving Trepidation: Dealing With Those Troublesome Family Members

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on November 16, 2016 at 7:35 PM /

Usually around Thanksgiving, we visit my in-laws since they live closer, but this year, my wife wants to visit my parents, who live two states away. This is a bit nerve-racking since I’m not on the best terms with them. My mother is still somewhat upset that I married so young and my father is very vocal about me not becoming an engineer like my uncles and he. They bring this up each time we visit. In the past, tensions flared and we’ve ended up going our separate ways after family get-togethers. We once went almost five months without talking...

Small Acts: How Kindness Can Help Brighten Anyone’s Day

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on November 9, 2016 at 10:00 PM /

To say I had a bad day is an understatement. First, I forgot to set my alarm, which made me late for class, then I got a flat and I couldn’t find the jack! Now I need to pay for towing and a replacement. To top it all off, the electricity in my apartment complex went out, making it impossible to do homework. Lucky for me, my friend Steve offered to let me stay at his place so I could use his Internet and complete my assignments. Then he treated me to dinner since he was aware of how rough...

Screening Our Kids: Going About Limiting Too Much Exposure to Media

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on November 2, 2016 at 9:13 PM /

My two kids, Derek and Samantha, are 7 and 14 years old, respectively. I’ve noticed recently that Derek is spending more time in front of the TV watching his favorite shows while Samantha often gets lost in her phone on Facebook or Twitter. To me, it’s not much of a problem, but I’ve read recently that overexposure to media isn’t great for young ages. I’ve spoken to my husband about it and he agrees that we should come up with a plan on limiting their intake of TV and phone use, and instead encourage them to spend more time doing...

Bullying: A Look at Both Sides of the Issue

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on October 26, 2016 at 6:55 PM /

Over the past few months, I’ve noticed my daughter Ashley acting differently. At first she would come home from school and would completely avoid talking about her day. Then it progressed to her rushing up to her room and not coming out until suppertime. When I ask her about her behavior, she immediately changes the subject and brushes off anything having to do with school. Just last week, however, I noticed she had some bruises on her arm and asked her about it. She got defensive and said nothing was wrong. I immediately spoke to her teacher about it and...

It’s Just a Game: A Look at How Sports Affect Fan Behavior

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on October 19, 2016 at 2:31 PM /

My husband is a huge fan of baseball. Although he enjoys the game in general, the Tampa Bay Rays are by far his favorite team. He lives and breathes anything that has to do with them. He follows them on social media and never misses one of their games. This is fine with me, but sometimes I notice he gets extremely competitive and defensive when they aren’t doing well. Just the other day, he got into a heated discussion with his brother about the team not doing well this season. It got so bad that he started shouting. Whenever we...

Butting Heads: When Politics Strain Relationships

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on October 12, 2016 at 2:40 PM /

My dad and oldest uncle have always been close, but lately they’ve constantly been at each other’s throats due to the upcoming presidential election. My dad is liberal and my uncle is conservative, so you can see how that might cause some heated discussions. Whenever we have a family get-together, it’s guaranteed that these two will butt heads when anything remotely political comes up. It’s gotten to the point where they just greet each other and go their separate ways instead of talking by the barbeque or at the table like they always did. It saddens me to see them...

Reading Between the Lines: How to Spot Behavioral Issues in Your Child

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on October 7, 2016 at 12:31 PM /

Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that Alex is spending more and more time on his computer and playing video games in his room. At first he’d spend an hour at most chatting with his friends on Facebook or enjoying a new game. But now, as soon as he gets home from school, he runs upstairs and won’t come out until dinner. Even then, he’ll be in a rush to eat and go up to his room again. Sometimes he becomes defensive when we bring it up. Whenever I try to talk to him about it, he’ll tell me...

Focus on the Smile: Introducing the Science of Happiness

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on October 5, 2016 at 8:12 PM /

I was sorting my mail a few days ago and found myself worrying about the upcoming bills I’ll more than likely be struggling with. Of course, this made me feel stressed about the fact that I still haven’t made the jump to a better job. This, in turn, made me feel upset about the fact that I don’t know if my future is heading in the right direction. So, while I sorted through that pile of mail, I slowly began to realize something: I’m constantly focused on the things that are “wrong” in my life. Would I be better off...