By Susan Sugerman, MD, MPH | Contributor Statistics since the 1980s show significant concerns about body image self-perception among children and teens. It is well known we live in a society that promotes unrealistic expectations around beauty and what is considered “normal” around body shape and size. What can a parent…
by Susan Sugerman | Contributor Question: How do we speak with our children in ways that impart wisdom and save them from the hard lessons we learned at their age? Answer: It’s a trick question. The real answer is to stop talking. We have had ample opportunity by the time our…
by Dr. Susan Sugerman | Contributor We live in a fairly privileged, relatively low-stress time in history, at least in terms of our day-to-day lives as Americans. Though there are definite exceptions, many of us don’t spend a lot of time worrying whether our children will have enough to…
On the surface, it seems simple – everyone has to eat. However, our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors about eating can be the difference between life and death. Balanced eating and exercise ought to lead to healthy outcomes, but too often, paying too much attention to how we eat backfires and…
“It’s all fun and games until someone posts a video…” by Dr. Susan Sugerman and Sierra Sanchez, MSSW | Contributors The anxiety about where to sit at lunch on the first day of school is enough to turn the stomachs of kids and parents alike. It’s bad enough for those…
by Dr. Susan Sugerman | Contributor We live in a fairly privileged, relatively low-stress time in history, at least in terms of our day-to-day lives as Americans. Though there are definite exceptions, many of us don’t spend a lot of time worrying whether our children will have enough to…
From a very early age, our children are bombarded with graphic messages about sexiness. From the clothing marketed to pre-teens to video games, music and the media, our children get the message that being “cool” means being sexy. By Dr. Susan Sugerman and Dr. Kwabena Blankson Kids are constantly exposed…
by Dr. Kwabena Blankson | Contributor You and your son may not know this, but in the next romantic relationship he is in, he is (statistically speaking) more likely to be a perpetrator of violence than the victim. How could your sweet young man—school president, star varsity athlete, honor…
Linda Daugherty began her theatre career as an actress on Broadway, but when the young mom moved to Texas in 1983, she found her passion for writing screenplays about real life issues. Bless Cricket, Crest Toothpaste, and Tommy Tune in 1985, a play about her relationship growing up with a…