A Close Look at what Self-Efficacy is and what You Can do to Strengthen Your Child’s

on March 8, 2017 at 9:16 PM /

Every parent wants for his or her child to grow up with healthy self-esteem. However, is liking oneself and feeling like a worthwhile person enough? When we look a bit further, we see that feeling and actually being both capable and competent may be even more important. Self-efficacy is a concept that was developed by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1970s. It’s described by Julia Lythcott-Haims as, “…having the belief in your abilities to complete a task, reach goals, and manage a situation. It means believing in your abilities – not in your parent’s abilities to help you do those things...

Parenting 101: Is there a Manual to Help Our Kids Become Well-Developed and Socially Responsible Adults?

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 1, 2017 at 9:11 PM /

At some point, many parents have wanted a manual or instructions to help raise their children. Is it your goal to help your children become resilient and socially responsible adults? If so, a set of instructions would sure make the job much easier, wouldn’t it? If you’ve ever tried finding a book on being a better parent, the amount of choices was likely overwhelming. In this piece, we’ll be going over a few factors that go into being a great parent. Rice Psychology Group wants all parents to succeed in bringing up their children. If you’re unsure of how to go about...

A Month of Mentorship: Doing What You Can for Youth in January and Beyond

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on January 4, 2017 at 9:00 PM /

I decided to make a change in my New Year’s resolution for 2017. Most of my friends and family make similar resolutions, liking hitting the gym or saving more money, but I wanted to take it a step further by making a change that can help someone else. I was reading online the other day that January is “National Mentoring Month”. Although I like to think that my life is going pretty smoothly, I know that there are other people out there, many of them kids, who don’t have as good a life as I do. So I thought, “Maybe...

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...

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...

Boosting the Self-Esteem of a Sensitive Child

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on September 21, 2016 at 8:35 PM /

Ryan is the sweetest kid. He’ll literally go out of his way to please his friends, family and teachers. You can ask him to do anything for you and he’ll put all of his effort into it simply because he wants to help. Unfortunately, I think this might be having a bit of an impact on his self-esteem. If his soccer coach benches him, even if it’s only because other kids need to play, Ryan will take it very hard. He’ll instantly think it’s because of his ability as a player, and his confidence will immediately drop. You can try...

The Learning Curve: Fatherhood in Today’s Age – Part 2

By Rice Psychology Group

on August 31, 2016 at 10:38 PM /

In the first part of my fatherhood blog, I shared some of the experiences I had when I was presented with the gift of fatherhood. It wasn’t always easy, but by identifying my personal strengths and engaging my challenges, I was able to prioritize my role in my family’s system. If parenthood is in your horizon, it’s important to consider the transformation of the modern-age father. I’ll help you understand it with the following pieces of valuable information....

Summer Woes: School’s Out, Boredom’s In

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on June 30, 2016 at 12:34 AM /

The house is full of groaning kids and summer vacation just started! If I’m in the kitchen putting together our lunch, in come my three frowning kids, complaining about how there’s nothing to do and how they’ll probably die of boredom. I just don’t get it, you know? It happens almost all day! Is it my job to keep them entertained or is the downtime they have actually a good thing? After hours, days and weeks of hard work, children from around the nation (and around the world) are finally able to take a much-needed break from their projects and homework....

The Magic of Teams – A Place for Everyone

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on September 16, 2015 at 8:01 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist 'Tis the season for trying out and participating in new or familiar sports and activities. I am a horseback rider and while it is my therapy, my love and my sport – it is also my arena for competition. Riding is an individual sport that allows for competition from the most basic beginner levels (for adults and children) through national, international and Olympic levels. Interestingly though, when I compete, I am also very much part of a team. I cheer on my barn-mates, even when I am competing directly against them; and they do the...