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Even the most independent of children can become grumpy or defiant when faced with going to school for the first time, or returning after a long holiday. Some kids may even complain of stomachaches, cling to your knee, or cry at the prospect, regressing to those terrible tantrums of their toddler years.

If your child is expressing strong feelings that she doesn’t want to go to school, check out these tips.

Listen To Your Child
First-day-of-school and back-to-school jitters are perfectly normal reactions to a change in daily life. It’s a rare child who doesn’t experience them at some point during their developmental drive toward independence. However, children may become anxious for different reasons, so the first step toward helping them begins with empathic listening.

It’ll take patience and time to encourage your child to talk about what is at the root of their worries. They may not want to admit that there’s a mean kid at school, but if an outside situation like bullying is the cause for their reluctance to go to school, it should be addressed as promptly as possible by checking in with the teacher and/or school counselor.

Drill Down To The Details
Children might refuse to go to school for any number of reasons. It’s important to acknowledge their fear and then offer ways to help.

If there’s a new baby in the house, they may be jealous that their sibling will be the focus of all your attention while they’re away. Reassure them of your love, and set aside a special time to give them your undivided attention.

If a child is entering a new classroom, they may be worried about whether they can make friends. Role play several social situations so they can practice introducing themselves and initiating friendship.

Others may worry that they won’t be able to keep up with the academic work. Setting up a study schedule or getting a jump on classroom reading can help a child concerned about academic stresses.

Keep To The Routine
Though your child may wake up every morning determined to avoid school attendance, it’s important to hold fast to the routine. An attitude of calm, patience, and affection can go a long way in assuaging their fears and getting them out the door. If the child is legitimately sick, make sure the sick day doesn’t turn into an extended play-day, giving them another reason to want to stay home.

Some children may experience crippling anxiety that extends into sleepless nights, nightmares, bed wetting, an intense fear of being alone, and an absolute refusal to go to school. If the worries don’t ebb with time, you may want to speak with a mental health professional experienced in the special care of young children.

Parenting is a skill we all learn on the fly. Unless you’ve studied early child development or logged in epic hours of babysitting preschoolers, very little of what we absorbed in our pre-parenting years prepares us for the unexpected surprises that come with raising a child.

So it’s natural to worry if you notice that your child remains mute while his same-aged cousin babbles on in complete sentences. it’s understandable you may have concerns when your toddler seems unintelligible while his classmates appear to articulate like budding orators. Yes, children reach developmental milestones at different rates…but how can you tell if your child has a speech delay?

Late Talkers
Some kids just take a little more time to talk. Before you worry, first consider whether your child fits into one of these categories.

• Children raised in a bilingual household will often take a little longer to reach speech developmental markers due to the complexity of absorbing both languages. Later, they’ll likely have more verbal dexterity because of their bilingualism.
• Younger siblings of large families will often take their time becoming fluent, perhaps because their older siblings pipe up to speak for them.
• Research has shown that sometimes boys tend to take longer to develop fluent speech than girls.
• Hearing problems in children can affect speech and language development.

Speech Developmental Milestones
The first three years of life are when speech and language develop most intensely, so educators as well as speech-language pathologists hope to see children reach certain milestones by age three. Young children pass through critical periods of development when it comes to speech and language, so early detection and intervention is critical.

By age one, children should:

• Say “mama” and “dada” in reference to their respective mother and father.
• Imitate sounds they hear by babbling.
• Turn at the sound of your voice, and achieve rudimentary communication, such as through pointing or waving “bye”.
• Respond to one-word commands like ‘come’ or ‘up’

By age two, children should:

• Respond to simple commands and directions, like “where’s your toy?” or “Put it there.”
• Enjoy rhymes and songs, and point to some things you name in books.
• Make two-word sentences, like “more juice.”
• Continue to learn new words. Ideally, by 18 months, your child will know at least 20 words.

By age three, children should:

• Speak well enough to be understood by others beside you.
• Have names for most things.
• Use tougher consonants such as f, g, k, n, d, and t.
• Use three-word sentences.

There are multiple ways to help your young child develop his language and communication skills. Talk your way through the day so he or she will be exposed to lots of language. Read to your children, sing to them, and repeat familiar nursery rhymes.

If you feel, despite all your best efforts, that your child is not acquiring speech and language skills in locks-step with his peers, talk to your doctor about your concerns. They’ll likely recommend you to a speech and language therapist or a developmental specialist who’ll put you on the path toward certainty and treatment.

Someday, your child may be thrilled by the promise of fresh notebooks, the heft of a brand new backpack, and the cinnamon scent of pencil shavings. But if they’re just starting school, or venturing into a new school, they’re more likely to be jittery and unsettled by all the preparations.

Just like their parents.

Going to school is a big transition for everyone, so it’s absolutely normal to be anxious about the Big Day. Check out these simple, effective ways to cope.

Listen To Your Child’s Worries
Any transition into the unknown can cause anxiety, but coping with those feelings starts with pinning down the sources. The weeks that precede the first day of school are a great time to listen to your child and gently encourage them to articulate their worries.

Younger children often fear that the teacher will be mean, the children won’t like him, or he’ll have a bathroom accident in the classroom. Older kids may worry about whether they’ll fit in, be able to handle the work, or find their way around a new school. Once you get to the heart of your child’s worries, you can help tackle them, one by one.

Visit The School
If your child expresses worries about the space, try to arrange a visit ahead of time. Teachers often arrive at least a week before opening day to arrange their classrooms and lesson plans, so you may be able to schedule a quick meet-and-greet. Practicing the morning ritual of getting up, dressed, fed, and to school can also help ease anxiety when the Big Day arrives.

Role Play
Some children may be worried about facing a whole classroom full of kids they don’t yet know. What if one of them is mean? How is she going to make friends? By role playing through such situations, you can help coach your child in ways to defuse uncomfortable situations and initiate new friendships.

Emphasize The Positive
Worries can crowd the mind and push out good thoughts altogether. Encourage your child to find something to look forward to, whether it’s cracking open that new box of crayons, wearing a new pair of sneakers, or playing in the school playground.

Be Calm, Cool, And Collected
Parents are naturally anxious about this important transition in a child’s life. As natural as your anxiety is, the best thing you can do is empower them to take charge of their feelings. Children take cues from their parents, so it’s important to model the kind of calm and surety that you want your children to feel.

After all, the best gift we can give our kids, especially during anxious times, is a sense of confidence and empowerment.

Let’s face it, New York City is a stressful place. The cost of living is high, the pace is frenetic, the cabbies are always honking, and the crowds can be overwhelming. Add in a summer of tourists, hundred-degree days, and ninety-percent humidity, and of course your anxiety level is going to rise.

Take a long, cleansing breath and rid yourself of all those exhaust fumes. Then consider these five ways to stay stress-free this summer in the Big Apple.

Seek Out Silence
Noise can be very grating and contribute to our stress and anxiety levels. It’s very difficult to avoid some level of noise in the city. In fact, Midtown South comes out on top in terms of filed complaints and overall noise pollution in Manhattan. Cars, crowds, and construction are unavoidable, though you may find some relief in neighborhoods with fewer noise complaints like the Upper East Side, or away from the street-edges of Central Park.

A better and more geographically neutral solution is to create your own oasis of calm. Use earbuds, whether you’re listening to music or not. If you do prefer to listen to music, choose tunes that are calming rather than raucous. Consider listening to the ambient noise of lapping waves during your morning walk to the subway, or turn your commute into a gentle meditation while listening to water running over rocks.

Seek Out Space
Times Square in July may not be the best place to go if you’re looking to relieve stress. There are too many tourists and too many Elmos vying for attention. Instead, seek out the less-tourist-popular wide-open spaces of the outer boroughs if you need to stretch out your arms without hitting anyone. Consider the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo, the Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, or the 250-acre New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

Seek Out Air Conditioning
If the heat and humidity are causing you anxiety, you don’t have to leave the city to find some relief. Plenty of public spaces offer a respite from the worst of a heat wave. Consider taking a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, popping in to the Oculus downtown, wandering through the Chelsea Market, admiring the ceiling of the Grand Central Terminal, ordering a coffee at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, or spending an hour or two in one of the many local art museums.

Seek Out Exercise
Regular, vigorous exercise is a great stress-reducer. If you can’t stand the idea of running through a sweaty afternoon, consider waking up a little early to jog before the full heat of the day. If you’ve got a gym membership, now’s the time to take advantage of the air conditioning to get some strength training done. If money is tight, check out these places in NYC where you can drop in to a class and work out for $25 or less.

Seek An Escape
A getaway is the perfect way to shake off the stress of day-to-day city living. Consider hopping on a train north to the Hudson Valley for the many craft and music festivals that take place along the river. Check out the Hot Air balloon festival in Rhinebeck, the Putnam County Wine & Food Festival, or the Hudson Valley Brassroots Festival in Kingston. If you don’t want to wander too far from the city, there’s always Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and the Rockaways.

Learning to cope with everyday stress is a vital life skill, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. If you need help dealing with anxiety that is affecting your quality of life, never hesitate to contact a mental health professional.

In June, July, and August, it’s hot in New York City! There’s a reason why many residents decamp for weeks to lakeside houses in the Catskills or Adirondacks, or spend the most sweltering of summer days on Rockaway Beach, Coney Island, or Jones Beach. But for migraine sufferers, humidity and atmospheric changes brought on by sudden storms can be a trigger to hours of intense pain. In fact, medical researchers have recently determined that increases in temperature are the number one weather-related trigger for migraines.

So how can you deal with your migraines while in New York City?

Hydrate!
High heat means a loss of fluids and electrolytes through sweating and evaporation. Between dehydration and a change in body chemistry, summer can be the worst season for migraine sufferers.

To lower the risk of an attack, consider exercising during the early morning or late evening hours, when the heat is at its minimum. Remember, too, to hydrate with water and, if you find yourself sweating profusely, drink plenty of fluids that contain electrolytes.

Keep To A Routine!
Summer often means a change in your regular schedule, whether you’re a college student home between semesters, or an at-home parent who suddenly has idle children about. Even full-time workers can find their schedule shifted if you’re allowed Summer Fridays off or late morning arrivals.

The subsequent changes in your eating pattern can cause blood-sugar surges or ebbs. Disrupted sleep patterns due to the lengthening days or changes in your schedule can do the same. For many people, these are common triggers.

To stave off migraines due to these shifts in routine, try to keep to a steady schedule despite the changes going on around you.

Watch The Weather!
There’s nothing you can do to stave off heat, humidity, or changes in atmospheric pressure, but you can be prepared for them. Avoid as much as possible being outside during sticky heat waves. Stay in air-conditioned places if you find that helps. If changes in atmospheric pressure are one of your stronger triggers, make sure you have your medications with you at all times and keep an eye on the skies (or your weather app) for upcoming storms.

Air Pollution Indexes
Although researchers have not found conclusive evidence to say that air pollution is strongly associated with a risk of migraines, they have noted that car exhaust fumes that contain nitrogen oxide can increase the risk of headaches overall. It’s still a good idea to avoid exposure if possible.

If pollution or allergens are triggers for you, keep an eye on the air quality index and be prepared if you have to venture outside. Make sure, too, that you frequently change filters in your air conditioner system if you have one, so that you at least can breathe freely at home.

It’s almost impossible to avoid all weather-related triggers if you’re a migraine sufferer living in Manhattan, so be sure your medications are up-to-date and you’re taking them properly. Some migraine medications only work if you take them at the first twinge of an oncoming attack, so always be sure to understand how your particular prescriptions work and take them as recommended.

School is out and summer is here! That means long, unstructured days along with pounding sun and stifling heat. Corralling the kids in an air-conditioned house all day is the last thing a parent wants to do, but how can you keep kids physically active over the long vacation and still keep them safe in the summer heat?

Lather Sunscreen, Repeat
Even the shade of a beach umbrella isn’t perfect protection from the rays of the sun, because light hitting water is reflected and scattered everywhere. Use sunscreen of a high SPF (at least 15) whenever your kids are outside. Make sure to reapply according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, twice as much if they’re swimming.

Be Active In The Early Morning And Late Afternoon
One way to keep the kids safe from the summer heat is to plan the day wisely. Set out on that bike ride in the early morning, before the sun reaches its zenith. Plan the picnic in the later part of the afternoon, when the sun’s fierce rays are weakening. Pick up some wise advice from the Spanish and spend the brutal hours from ten to two o’clock enjoying a siesta inside.

Keep An Eye On The Weather
Overcast days can provide some relief from the heat and the pounding of the sun. The UV index tends to be low in cloudy weather, so take advantage by scheduling outdoor activities. Hike through the woods, take a break at a nearby park, or an excursion to the nearest watering hole. Keep in mind that cloud cover doesn’t preclude sunburn, so be sure to slather your kids with sunscreen.

Cover Up
Lightweight, cotton clothes that cover a child’s shoulders and legs can help avoid sunburn, as can a hat and sunglasses, if you can convince your child to wear them. Swim shirts are a great way for your kid to avoid unintentional burning while splashing in the waves.

Drink Lots Of Water
Keep your children well hydrated during the summer months, especially when they’re active. Always carry sufficient amounts of water around so that you’re not caught unprepared.

Know The Signs
Heatstroke, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion can come on fast in both children and adults. Be aware of the symptoms so you can treat them quickly.

• Heat Cramps manifest as spasms in the legs, stomach, and sometimes in the hands. If your child experiences these symptoms, bring him someplace cool and make sure he drinks lots of water. The symptoms should ease within an hour or two.
• Heat Exhaustion is more serious and manifests in a variety of ways, including paleness, weakness, dizziness, nausea, and sometimes mild fever. If left untreated, heat exhaustion can lead to heatstroke.
• Heatstroke is life-threatening. It manifests as a high fever, with confusion, flushing, and sometimes with sweating and sometimes not. It must be treated as an emergency.

Helping your children stay active in the summer is a healthy behavior, but don’t hesitate to keep them inside during the peak hours of a heat wave. Take out board games, make an indoor obstacle course, or teach your kids how to make homemade ice pops to keep them occupied. Eventually the heat wave will break, and you’ll all be back outside, enjoying the fine weather.

All of the excitement, along with the constant hustle and bustle, makes big cities very attractive to many people. But, all of that commotion can also cause anxiety for a lot of people. Here are a few ways to relieve some of the anxiety caused by big cities.

Traffic
This one actually causes anxiety in almost everyone. When you’re stuck in traffic in the city, there usually isn’t any way out. You just have to wait. And, as everyone’s impatience grows, the honking starts. A simple drive to work or the corner market can become a stressful event.

Think about ways to avoid the anxiety caused by driving in the heavy traffic.

• Pick a different, less crowded, time to drive if possible.
• Use public transportation where you can sit back and relax with headphones or a good book.
• Drive a different route. Even if it takes a little longer, avoiding heavy traffic will make the drive much less anxious.

So Many People
The crowds of people can be overwhelming. It’s not at all uncommon to see bodies walking, almost shoulder-to-shoulder, on the sidewalks at certain times of day. And, if you are visiting or live in a big city, at some point you’ll find yourself on those sidewalks.

Some people just need their personal space. Call it their bubble, if you will. It can only be shared for so long.

If the crowds of people make you anxious, look for ways to break up the walk. Maybe duck into a shop or other building for a breather, or take a short break on a bench. If you’re lucky enough to have a park, it’s an ideal diversion.

Moving yourself away from the crowd give you a chance to re-energize. All it takes is a few moments, and you’re ready to dive into the throng again.

Public Transportation
It’s often the best way to get around in a bustling metropolitan area. But, understanding the schedules and routes will cause some anxiety in most people. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. You could even have a friend walk you through the process to make it less stressful.

Find an Outlet
Whether you like to read, exercise, jog, or are involved in some other activity, having an outlet is a great way to ease your everyday anxiety and prepare you for the next day. Always schedule time for you.

From the time your children are born, you nurture and protect them, guiding them through the intricacies of growing up. But at some point, you have to send them out into the real world. You can only hope that you’ve prepared them for the challenges that they’ll face.

But what if they’re being bullied? It’s probably not something that you planned for, and it can be tough for their young minds to comprehend. For their entire lives, everyone has been nice, and now someone is suddenly being mean. And you’re not going to stand for it. Here are some ways to deal with your child getting bullied.

Explain What’s Happening
Once you realize that your child is being bullied, make sure that they understand what is happening. They may be blaming themselves, thinking that they’ve done something wrong. Children need to understand that bullies have a problem, and that their behavior isn’t acceptable.

Gather Information
It’s important to let your child know that you’ll need to get other people involved to stop the bullying. They may be scared of what will happen when the bully finds out. They need to understand that it’s the bully that’s in trouble and not them. When you’re talking to your child, let them know that you’ll need as much information as possible to make the bully stop.

• What is the bully’s name?
• Is it just one person or a group of kids?
• Where is it happening?
• When is it happening?
• What are they doing?

Make Contact
Once you have all of the details, it’s time to make contact. Reaching out to the bully or their parents might not be the best idea.

If the bullying is happening at school, you’d want to contact the principal first. They can intervene, notifying the bully’s parents, and possibly arrange some sort of intervention that could solve the problem.

If it’s happening at a local club or other organization, you would want to speak to whomever is in charge. Your goal is to involve a third party with authority who will investigate the issue, involving the bully’s parents at some point.

Follow Up
Once all parties are aware of the bullying issue, there should be a zero tolerance policy concerning any threatening behavior. If your best efforts have failed, and the bullying continues, you could have legal options. Children aren’t allowed to threaten or harm other children.

If your child has been diagnosed with a speech or language delay, there is plenty you can do at home to reinforce the lessons they learn during their time with a speech therapist. Check out these eight ways to help your child develop language skills.

Reduce Audio Distractions
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, having the TV on or music playing are audio distractions for a child with a speech delay. Better to shut off the noise for a while, so that you and your child can talk to one another, one-on-one, with better clarity.

Speak Often
Encouraging a dialogue encourages speech, so it helps to talk (in short sentences) about what you’re doing, putting names on the objects you’re handling and repeating those words frequently.

Speak Clearly
Depending on your child’s age and their individual speech assessment, speak distinctly and in short, concise sentences. Model proper sentence structure, but keep it simple.

Repeat Often
In conversation, repeat what your child says back to you so they know that you understand what has been said. Consider adding on to what they say, perhaps by using a descriptor. “You want the ball?” “Do you want the red ball?”

Use Sign Language
Researchers have discovered that using sign language helps children with speech delays learn how to communicate until their verbal skills improve. This reduces frustration that may arise from the difficulty they have making their wants and needs known. You don’t have to memorize every sign in ASL, just check out YouTube videos for some basic signs to get you started.

Make A Game Out Of Mouth Muscle Exercises
Whether your child’s speech therapist has recommended the old button-and-string pull, or frequent use of a crazy straw, try to make a game out of the exercises so they enjoy them more.

Ask Them Questions
Give them a choice between two objects and ask them to pick. Do you want grapes or strawberries? Do you want milk or juice? Ask them to identify objects for which they may already recognize the words, such as Where’s the dog? or Where’s your sister?

Play
One of the best, and most fun, things you can do to support your child’s speech development is to play with them one-on-one. Even simple throw-and-catch games allow for an exchange of short sentences within the context of the game. Sing rhyming songs, and point out birds, trees, and other aspects of the natural world, all which help your child make the necessary language connections.

Perhaps you have days or weeks where you feel tremendously energetic. Your appetite for food, drink, exercise, sex, etc., tends to excess. You sleep little, talk a lot, and your mind runs wild. You feel powerful and capable, or perhaps irritated and tightly wound, all at the same time. Eventually, you crash from this elation, and when you do, you lose all interest in things that once engaged you. You feel listless, have little to say, struggle to sleep and focus, and grapple with feelings of worthless or fight thoughts of self-harm.

Such are the classic manic-depressive symptoms of bipolar disorder, a mental health syndrome that affects nearly 3% of the U.S. population. The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown. Genetics play a part, but so can stress and the onset of life-altering events. Most doctors believe the root of bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance in the brain that affects the neurotransmitters responsible for mood, energy, and activity levels.

Because Bipolar Disorder shares many common symptoms with other mental health disorders like depression, it is one of the more difficult disorders to diagnose. The most common sub-types are called Bipolar I and Bipolar II.

• Bipolar I is defined by manic episodes for which the behavior is sustained all day, all through the length of the episode. People suffering from Bipolar I may also experience depressive episodes, but they aren’t central to the diagnosis.
• The more common sub-type, Bipolar II, involves depressive symptoms and much less severe manic ones. The fact that the swings in the cycle are more muted often means the close friends and family of the sufferer notice the behaviors, rather than the sufferer his- or herself.

There are treatments for bipolar disorder. These most commonly include dialectical or cognitive behavioral therapy along with medication. Since every patient is as unique as their symptoms, it may take a little time to find the right medications that work best for you. They won’t cure the disorder, but they will help you keep your moods less volatile so you can live a more balanced and stable life.