Category Archive

For most of us, the first interaction we experience in our lives is with our mothers. It is through her nurturing, support, love, and attention that we first begin to develop a sense of self-worth, self-esteem, confidence, and emotional intelligence. B…

Especially with that first baby, many couples would find it difficult adjusting to the responsibilities that come with a tiny little bundle of joy – especially when there is more than one. The sleepless nights are the hardest, but what’s even harder is…

Allison’s sixteen-year-old daughter, like any teen her age, experiences high school drama. When the mom from Overland Park, Kansas, discovered she was staying up late into the night texting and using social media, however, she became concerned. Th…

Do you have a child or teenager who always seems “on edge”, or who can erupt into a complete rage at any given moment? Or is your kid kind of depressed, apathetic, or has deflated into a constant mood of being dull and uninterested? Your first instinct…

Divorce is a difficult and draining phase of life for anyone to pass through, but what’s even harder is learning to co-parent amicably after separating. The transition from couple to divorced co-parents is not always as seamless as we assume it to be.&…

Last September, almost twenty million students enrolled in colleges across the United States [1]. That’s a nearly twenty-five percent increase in enrollment from twenty years ago, and a sixty percent increase over the last fifty years [1]. The idea that you must go to college and get a degree in order to be successful in…

The post College Isn’t For Every Young Adult–And It’s Time Parents Accept It appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

The classic American family is no longer “a mother, a father, two kids, and a dog” as the divorce rates have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the Bureau of Census, one out of every marriage ends in divorce, with the average American marriage l…

You are jolted awake at five in the morning by high-pitched screams from down the hall. You drag yourself out of bed to respond to the deafening “Mamma! Mamma!” exploding from the tiny lungs of your one-year-old daughter. Just as you finally get her settled and back to sleep, her two-year old older brother wakes…

The post Sometimes a Day Off with the Kids is Harder Than a Work Day appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

As a young parent you’ve probably heard the warnings- “they’re perfect now, but wait till they turn two!”. Maybe you haven’t gotten to that stage yet, or maybe you’re already in the thick of it, wondering how you’re sweet, cooing baby turned into this irrational little monster seemingly overnight. Even if you’re not a parent,…

The post 2-year-olds aren’t terrible—they’re just learning how to be human appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

Life is full of defining moments. Moments that leave an imprint on your memory and change you forever. Few moments are as life-altering, though, as the moment you become a mother for the first time. Seemingly overnight, your life is completely turned u…

For years, people worried that speaking to babies in more than one language would cause confusion and a delay in language development. Now we know that couldn’t be further from the truth: babies raised in two (or more!) languages have a higher rate of …

While most kids discover and accept the “Santa Secret” by the age of eight or nine, Caitlin Galllagher didn’t reach this pivotal moment that happens in every child’s life until age thirteen [1]. Sure, she heard her friends talk about it- tell stories at lunch time of how they found out it was actually their…

The post I’m 30 Years Old, and My Mom Still Pretends Santa Is Real appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

It’s the classic Christmas scene: a warm glowing fire, stockings hanging on the mantle, and a giant, lit-up tree surrounded by a mountain of presents.  For a child, Christmas morning is the most magical day of the year. What could be better than u…

Many new parents are given conflicting advice. The baby should sleep on their stomach… wait no, the back or… the side? The baby should sleep with the mother, no, in their own crib, no, in their own room. Sometimes the advice comes from a trusted place, like a doctor or a family member. Most of…

The post Holding Your Crying Baby isn’t Spoiling Them, You’re Just Meeting the Child’s Needs appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

This article was originally published on November 14th, 2019, and has since been updated. For the sake of the children involved, co-parenting DOES NOT have to be complicated. Matured parents would be driven to put aside any feelings of antagonism or sp…

As the spooky season ends, the holiday season begins. For people on top of their game, that means they start of gift shopping. If you’re shopping for kids or a parent in general, this new report from the American Association of Pediatricians (AAP) will…

It’s becoming more common for parents to ask loved ones not to get too close to newborns. But as we enter another cold & flu season, even children up to the age of two can be especially vulnerable to germs. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is virtually harmless for adults, but for babies and young toddlers,…

The post “Don’t kiss my baby”: Doctors send warning about RSV ahead of winter appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

Misconceptions about attachment parenting are the reasons why many parents avoid lying with their kids at night. Attachment parenting (AP) simply means nurturing the healthy connection that children can develop with their parents. It revolves around deepening the parent-child bond rather than severing it as the child grows older.  Critics over the years have argued…

The post Lying Down With Your Kids at Night While They Fall Asleep Is Not a ‘Bad Habit’ appeared first on The Hearty Soul.

There’s nothing a parent won’t do for their child.Some say that phrase, or some form of it, as a given fact. They believe a parent’s love is unconditional, but they don’t explore that concept further. On the flip side, those with harsh childhoods might…