Florissa

02/18/2026

We love children's literature that helps them understand their experience and their emotions. Here are a few of the books about divorce that we use and recommend.

02/16/2026

We often get questions about how to explain diagnoses to our clients' brothers and sisters. Dr. Liz Angoff provides a simple framework that helps siblings understand the strengths and challenges of neurodiverse brains. Knowledge is powerful!

02/14/2026

🌟 Fun Tip for Kids Who Are Afraid of the Dark! 🌟

Is your child scared of the dark? You’re definitely not alone — this is one of the most common childhood fears!

One playful way to help kids approach the dark (instead of avoiding it) is to create a dark treasure hunt right in their bedroom. It turns something scary into something fun and empowering!

How to try it:
🔦 Hide a few small toys or prizes around your child’s room — yes, even in the closet and under the bed where those “monsters” like to hang out!
🔦 Give your child a flashlight and keep the room lights off.
🔦 Ask them to explore the room and find all the hidden treasures.

This simple game helps your child get used to the dark in a low‑pressure, playful way… and builds confidence at the same time. 💛

If you try it, let us know how it goes!

02/14/2026

😴 Why Bedtime Sometimes Backfires — And What Helps Instead! 💡

A lot of us have kids who take forever to fall asleep after they lie down. This is called a long “sleep onset latency,” and it’s one of the biggest reasons children don’t get enough total sleep.

When this happens, many parents (totally understandably!) try moving bedtime earlier so their child can get more hours in. It makes perfect sense on the surface… but here’s the surprising part:

👉 Putting kids to bed TOO early can actually make things worse.
If we miss their natural “sleep window,” kids end up lying awake for long stretches. Over time, their brains start to connect bed = being awake, instead of bed = falling asleep.

The good news? There is a gentle fix that often works really well:

🌙 Bedtime Fading 🌙
This technique involves temporarily moving bedtime later so your child is actually tired when they get into bed. This helps rebuild a positive association:
bed = sleep!

Once your child is falling asleep quickly and easily at the later time, you slowly shift bedtime earlier—little by little—until you reach your family’s ideal schedule. Kids usually keep their new habit of falling asleep more easily because their brain has relearned what “bedtime” means.

It sounds backwards, but it’s incredibly effective for many families. ❤️

While the above tip is from Florissa staff, see more ideas for helping with bedtime here:

Getting enough sleep helps you focus, retain information and helps to fortify your immune system. For parents and caretakers struggling to get their little ones to bed on time, here are tips on establishing healthy sleeping habits — that can benefit your entire family.

02/13/2026

Ah, teens and sleep (and so many of us 🙋‍♀️!) trying to deal with a 2 A.M. spiral - so exhausting! Check out the following tips from a therapist to help ease the stress and anxiety interferring with sleep. 😰

https://www.parents.com/how-to-help-your-teen-cope-with-the-2-a-m-spiral-according-to-the-therapist-who-coined-the-term-11883813p

Have a feeling your exhausted teen is dealing with more one too many sleepless nights? The 2 A.M. stress spiral might be the culprit—here's how to address it.

02/12/2026

This looks great!

Building Skills for Life
March 4, 2026 | 7:00–8:00 PM | Virtual
A practical, engaging session focused on building children’s social, emotional, and academic skills. Families will walk away with tools they can use right away at home and school.
Register: https://forms.fillout.com/t/5sMCD8nDv9us

02/12/2026

ADHD and Sleep Issues … a chicken-and-egg paradox. Read more to find out what you can do about it 🐣💤😴

https://childmind.org/article/adhd-and-sleep-issues/p

Some estimates suggest that up to 50% of kids and adolescents with ADHD experience sleep issues. Here's why and strategies that can help.

02/10/2026

🌙 Let’s Talk About Sleep🌙

Lately, we’ve been noticing that good sleep is really hard to get.
Sleep can easily get disrupted when a child is dealing with ADHD, anxiety, or low mood—and as many of us know, when sleep is off, everything feels harder.

Kids who aren’t getting enough quality sleep often struggle more with behavior, anger, anxiety, depression, learning, and emotional ups and downs. Because of this, it’s important to keep an eye on how your child is functioning.

💤 So what does good sleep hygiene look like for kids?
Here are some simple, family‑friendly tips from Florissa that can make a big difference:

🕒 Keep a consistent bedtime routine. After dinner, think: shower → quiet wind‑down → bedtime.
📵 No electronics after dinner. This includes TV, video games, tablets, and phones (for real!).
📚 Read 1–2 calm, low‑energy books in bed to help the brain settle.
🚫 Avoid exercise (high energy movement) within 2 hours of bedtime.
🌙 Night lights or soft, calming music are totally okay for falling asleep.
☕ Skip caffeine after noon. This includes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and even chocolate treats.

Small changes can make a big impact over time. ❤️ Consistency really is the key!

We'll be featuring tips on sleep all week, so stay tuned…🌝

02/05/2026

Come join our Kreider Team

02/04/2026

01/31/2026

We love a good resource from Child Mind Institute. 🧠

One tip that stands out below: Get comfortable with discomfort.

When supporting stressed children, “get comfortable with discomfort” means a shift in whose discomfort we prioritize and how we respond to it.

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

What it does NOT mean:

• It does not mean ignoring a child’s distress
• It does not mean being cold, punitive, or “toughening them up”
• It does not mean withholding support

What it DOES mean:

It means parents learn to tolerate their own discomfort so their child can build the skills to tolerate theirs.

In real-life parenting terms:

1. Sitting with big feelings instead of fixing them

• Your child is crying, angry, or anxious
• Your instinct is to distract, rescue, rationalize, or make it stop
• “Getting comfortable with discomfort” means staying calm, present, and empathetic without rushing to erase the feeling

“I can see this is really hard. I’m here with you.”

2. Allowing struggle that is developmentally appropriate

• Letting a child feel frustrated when a task is hard
• Letting them experience a consequence that is safe and natural
• Trusting that frustration, disappointment, and uncertainty are not harmful emotions

This is especially important for kids who experience anxiety or stress—they need repeated experiences of surviving discomfort to build confidence.

3. Not borrowing the child’s stress

Parents often absorb a child’s distress as their own:
• Child is anxious → parent becomes anxious
• Child melts down → parent feels urgency or panic

Getting comfortable with discomfort means:
• Regulating yourself first
• Modeling calm nervous system responses
• Showing: “Big feelings are manageable.”

4. Holding boundaries even when it feels awful

• Saying no even when your child cries
• Ending screen time even when it escalates emotions
• Sending them to school despite anxiety (with support)

The discomfort here is often the parent’s, not the child’s.

5. Teaching coping, not avoiding

Avoidance reduces distress short term but increases anxiety long term. So:
• Coach coping skills
• Encourage gradual exposure
• Normalize stress as part of growth

Why this matters for stressed children:

Children learn emotional regulation through experience, not explanation.

When adults:
• Stay present
• Stay regulated
• Don’t rush to “fix”

Kids internalize:
“I can feel uncomfortable and still be okay.”

A simple reframe:

Instead of- “How do I make this stop?”

Try - “How do I help my child move through this?”

01/30/2026

Something we often say: “Connection before correction.”

In the parenting world, “connection before correction” means that a child is more likely to learn, listen, and change behavior after they feel emotionally safe, understood, and connected to you.

In short: you meet the child emotionally first, then address the behavior.

What it’s based on:

When kids are dysregulated (upset, angry, embarrassed, overwhelmed), the thinking part of the brain goes offline. Trying to correct, lecture, or discipline in that moment often backfires. Connection helps calm the nervous system so learning can happen.

What “connection” looks like:

Connection DOESN’T mean permissive parenting or letting behavior slide. It means:
• Getting on their level (physically and emotionally)
• Acknowledging feelings: “That was really frustrating.”
• Using a calm tone and body language
• Showing empathy before problem-solving

Examples:

• “I see you’re really upset that it’s time to turn the game off.”
• “That scared you. I get why you reacted like that.”

Then comes “correction”

Once the child feels seen and calmer, you address the behavior or expectation:

• Setting limits: “It’s okay to be mad, but it’s not okay to hit.”
• Teaching alternatives: “Next time, you can ask for help or take a break.”
• Following through with consequences if needed

What it does NOT mean:

• It does not mean no boundaries
• It does not mean agreeing with the behavior
• It does not mean avoiding consequences

It means teaching happens best in relationship, not in power struggles.

Heres a listen for more:

How to change your child's behavior, according to parenting expert Becky Kennedy : Life Kit

It all starts with the assumption that your kids have good intentions and want to do the right thing, says Becky Kennedy, a psychologist and host of the Good Inside parenting podcast.