Are you worried about your student’s grades or difficulties in school? The best way to help is to start with an accurate idea of what exactly is the problem. Use this checklist to identify it. Then click on the skill in parentheses to learn more. Once you know the underlying reason your child is struggling, use your Mindprint Toolbox to figure out exactly what to do next. Always remember that the best way to have a full understanding is a combination of observational data and cognitive testing. While a psycho-educational evaluation can be expensive, you can start with a cognitive screener to determine if a full evaluation is warranted. Executive Functions Does she have trouble staying focused for longer tasks or those she has… Read More

by Mindprint Staff New Year’s might be the traditional time to make resolutions, but at Mindprint we believe the summer solstice can mark the best opportunity to make important lifestyle changes. Summer affords plenty of time to persevere and make sure that those new habits stick without the competing demands and stress of a rigorous academic schedule. We’ve picked our favorites that should be relatively easy to keep once you get started and can truly benefit the whole family. Our Top 5 Summer Resolutions for Kids of All Ages 1) Get Enough Sleep. According to the National Institutes of Health, school-aged children should be getting 10 hours of sleep a night. A good night’s sleep improves emotional and physical health and enhances learning and retention. During the school year,… Read More

Read and learn how you can make sure your kids are prepared for a lifetime of success. Experts from the World Economic Forum believe that over 1/3 of the most important workplace skills will change over the next five years. That’s an incredible rate of change. While schools are focused on meeting these needs, there’s a lot parents can do to strengthen the skills that will be critical to their child’s lifelong success. Top 10 Ways to Nurture the World Economic Forum Top 10 Skills: Know your child’s stronger and weaker skills. Keep in mind that these skills develop at different rates, and you should expect a child to be stronger in some areas and weaker in others.* Focus on retention. A strong general knowledge base remains essential for critical thinking…. Read More

  There are a variety of reasons for test anxiety. The best news is that a little bit of test anxiety is good thing. It provides an adrenaline rush to work efficiently. But too much stress produces a full rush of hormones that interferes with the ability to think clearly and rememberwhat you know. If test anxiety is a problem, read on for the seven most common reasons for test anxiety and what to do about it. The very first step is to recognize that the reasons for test anxiety are different for every student. The trick is to figure out which one is the reason for your child’s test anxiety. Subject-Specific Anxiety Sometimes kids develop test anxiety around one subject but not another, similar to how they might have anxiety around… Read More

by Mindprint Staff Is the New Year’s resolution just a foolhardy tradition? By most estimates, approximately 50% of us make them and less than 10% of us follow through on them. Or, in other words, half of us have reached the point of “why bother?” You may wonder why experts in child development would recommend that children keep up this New Year’s tradition when the most essential skills needed to make and keep resolutions (planning, impulse control, and self-awareness) are still maturing. If adults with a fully-developed prefrontal cortex don’t have the executive function skills to keep a resolution, why even consider suggesting our kids try? Because it is our responsibility as parents and educators to help our kids be the best they can be. New Year’s resolutions… Read More

In October I attended the Association of Educational Therapists conference and heard Dr. Tina Bryson’s keynote. She had plenty of great advice, best summed up this way: “When a kid’s not behaving, what if it’s a can’t, not a won’t?” How many of us have told a child that he’s simply not trying hard enough, or threatened punishments for a kid who doesn’t listen? No doubt, we parents and teachers are often justified in our exasperation. It is our responsibility to teach children to work hard and respect adults. We certainly are correct in assigning appropriate consequences when they don’t listen. But when it’s a pattern of behavior, it’s time to consider if the approach needs to change. Realistically, every child wants to succeed and no child wants… Read More

CAUTION: If your child is begging you for a cellphone and you aren’t quite ready to give in, you might not want your child to read the following post!  By Mindprint Staff Parents of elementary-aged children always ask about the “right age” for a cellphone. And all parents wonder about what rules to set. Given the enormous amount of negative publicity around adolescent cellphone use, much of it rightfully earned, the hesitancy around giving a child a cellphone is understandable. A quick scan through our collection of articles on media privacy & usage should provide you with all the cautionary advice you need. However, much less discussed are the potential benefits of having a cellphone. And these benefits can extend well beyond knowing when your child is… Read More

  “Thank you, Mrs. Ferguson,” I said to myself  walking out of the building. After finishing 10 parent-teacher conferences for two middle schoolers, my long but very good day was finally over. Don’t get me wrong, not all of the feedback was positive. Yes, there was room for improvement, different things for different kids. But there was one common praise across all of those conferences and both of those kids: your child is very self-sufficient. Any child psychologist will tell you the importance of teaching children independence if you want them to grow into successful adults. Parents hear it constantly. But what they are missing are the details. How in the world does a parent know how much responsibility to give and when to give… Read More

We hear it all the time. Teens need more sleep. They burn the candle at both ends, with early start times for school followed by hours of after school activities and homework. When I taught high school, I saw my students in first period at 7:45 a.m. and dismissed the last class 2:45 p.m. And guess what? These teens were exhausted at both ends of the day. They wanted coffee. Did you drink coffee in 10th grade?! As adults, many of us empathize with the adolescent’s desire for more sleep. We’re tired, too. But do we really understand the unique problem teens face when it comes to their sleep deficits? Because in reality, the teen brain is very different from the… Read More

By Sarah Maraniss Vander Schaaff Editor’s Note: This was originally written in 2016 and revised by Mindprint editors in 2019. Consider also reading “What if it’s a can’t not a won’t“ A few days ago, while listening to NPR in the car, I heard an interview with Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston and, unbeknownst to me, a “top ten” TED talk superstar. She has a new book out, Rising Strong, The Reckoning, The Rumble, The Revolution, that answers this central question: “What do…people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid… Read More