How Parents Can Be the Ultimate Spoilsports

on October 8, 2014 at 11:41 AM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist The Psychological wins and losses in competitive sports are pressure enough. But, are you as a parent supporting your child or transferring your desires onto them causing them to feel stress and disappointment? Are you the dad who is insulting the ref who made a bad call? Are you the mom who wants to tell your son’s coach a thing or two after the game about either over or underplaying your child? Maybe you are the horse show parent who coaches from outside the ring, interfering with what your child’s trainer is telling her to do. And, let’s hope...

Do Today’s Children Need a Media Diet?

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on September 25, 2014 at 12:21 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist How much is too much? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, today's children spend more than 7.5 hours a day with media. That's more than many of them spend in school and it leads me to wonder...

Why Parents Can’t Be Dumb About Social Media

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on September 10, 2014 at 2:13 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist Today many in the Tampa Bay area will be remembering Rebecca Sedwick through vigils, classroom and home discussions, and of course, news reports on teens and bullying. One year ago today, Rebecca committed suicide after reportedly being bullied both on and offline for more than a year. These stories seem to be far too common these days and I am often asked how parents can help prevent bullying, especially online. Walking the fine line of respecting your child’s online privacy while looking out for their well-being is a challenge that our parents didn’t exactly have. I always use...

The World is a Scary Place

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on August 26, 2014 at 4:41 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist How would you feel about flying to Africa with the uncontained Ebola virus spreading throughout the continent? Or, how would you feel about flying internationally on the heels of the one plane completely disappearing mid-flight and another one being shot down? I can tell you that these are both questions I have pondered extensively over the past few weeks because I am about to fly to Johannesburg before heading out on a 9-day safari in Botswana and then a few days in Victoria Falls. I have been thinking about the risks of going to a country...

How Your Guidance Counselor and Psychologist Can Work Together

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on August 12, 2014 at 7:13 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist When I was in high school, I struggled more than a bit with self-esteem and self-confidence. Getting homework done required an inordinate amount of effort and I rarely felt satisfied with the final product. My grades were fine but I generally had a nagging feeling that I didn’t really understand things as well as my classmates and I was convinced that I wasn’t smart. If you have read my chapter in Succeeding Against All Odds (free give away on my website homepage), you probably already know why. My school guidance counselor, Mrs. Rosner, was the first...

The Psychological Price of Affluence

By Rice Psychology Group

on July 14, 2014 at 6:17 PM /

By Megan Sutsko, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist A recent trend in social media has users following their statuses or captions with funny self-deprecating hashtags. Examples are, “My PureBarre class was cancelled #whitegirlproblems” or “iphone contacts deleted! #firstworldproblems.” The assumption is that when upper class Americans complain, their worries are really minimal compared to those with “real” problems. What could financially privileged families and individuals really have to complain about anyway? Well, as far as mental health is concerned, there is actually scientifically supported research that has found that the wealthiest families in our nation have some of the most at-risk children and...

How to Teach Your Child Independence

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on July 2, 2014 at 8:10 AM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist When I went to college, I kind of knew how to do laundry, check the oil in my car, and use my trusty hotpot to make soup. I wasn’t quite so skilled at balancing my checkbook or managing my time effectively and, I was at a complete loss when it came to figuring out a tip in a restaurant. Over the years, I have met with several parents who are getting ready to send their children to college and wonder whether they have adequately prepared them for living independently. As part of an evaluation, we sometimes look...

Helping Children in Split Households Cope with Separation

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on July 2, 2014 at 3:41 AM /

Dr. Wendy Rice was interviewed on The Miguel Show with Holly & Mandy about children in situations with split households and how to help them cope with separation. ...

Father’s Day Observations

By Rice Psychology Group

on June 18, 2014 at 1:39 PM /

By Mary Ann Pickard Is Father’s Day a time to just buy another greeting card or a time to think about what Dad means to you? I have observed Fathers for close to 60 years. From my own father, to those of my cousins, classmates, students, friends, and especially the one who helped me raise my own kids. I am pretty sure I have personally seen the full range of the worst (those who deny, abuse or abandon) to the absolute best fathers (those who love, respect and protect).The one thing they all have in common is the power to impact their...

Parent Report Card Preparation Tips

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on April 9, 2014 at 1:37 PM /

Find out how you can support your child and not freak out when it's time to read their report cards. If you are a parent, four times a year, pretty much without fail, the envelope arrives in the mail for you. As a child in New York, my parent’s got theirs in a thin, white envelope with green edges and a black dot-matrix print. You would fold the end and pull at the tab for the big reveal. Butterflies would ravage my stomach as my mother pulled that tab. For some families, report card time is as ominous as another winter or summer storm. ...