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Raising Capable Kids: A Life Skills Roadmap from Toddlers to Teens
If you've ever stood in your kitchen watching your child struggle to do something you know they're "old enough" to do and felt that mix of frustration, worry, and quiet guilt, I want you to take a breath. You're not doing it wrong. And neither are they.
Here's something I tell parents all the time: being old enough to do a task and being ready to do it independently are two different things. A child can be developmentally capable of clearing their plate, packing their backpa
Cary M Hamilton
Jun 36 min read
Understanding Mental Health in Every Brain
Mental health is your ability to handle stress, connect with others, make choices that feel good to you, and move through life feeling like yourself. It's not the absence of hard feelings. It's knowing yourself well enough to understand what helps when things feel hard. For some kids, that's moving their body. For others, it's quiet time alone. For some, it's talking things through. For many neurodivergent brains, it's a combination—and it changes depending on the day.
Cary M Hamilton
May 73 min read
Parenting When the World Feels Unsafe: Helping Children Stay Regulated During Collective Stress
When the world feels like it’s stopping again, children don’t just watch—they feel it in their nervous systems because it is happening again.
Not a pandemic—at least not the same kind. But that feeling. That pit-in-your-stomach, world-tilting-sideways feeling that parents know too well. The one where you wake up, check the news, and think, "How do I possibly explain this to my children today?"
We're six years past March 2020, and our bodies remember. Our children's bodies
Cary M Hamilton
Feb 218 min read
The Marble Jar of Trust: Why the Small Moments Matter Most
If you’ve ever listened to Brené Brown, you may have heard her talk about trust in a way that is deceptively simple: as a jar filled one marble at a time.
Each marble represents a moment—tiny, often forgettable on their own—when someone shows up for us. A small kindness. A kept promise. A gesture of understanding. A pause to really hear us. None of these moments build trust instantly, but together they accumulate into something solid, steady, and safe.
Amy Pittman LMHCA & Cary Hamilton LMHCS
Dec 4, 20253 min read
Setting Boundaries for Joy: Finding Gratitude & Glimmers This Holiday Season
We are all about encouraging boundaries in relationships because they foster healthy connections and improve self-esteem and self-compassion. But here's what we're learning about boundaries and mental health: when we protect our time and energy through healthy limits, we create the capacity to actually notice the good moments—what trauma therapist Deb Dana calls "glimmers."
These small moments of warmth, connection, and joy are everywhere during the holidays, but we can o
Cary M Hamilton
Nov 27, 20256 min read
Living and Understanding ADHD: A Journey Through the Maze—From Both Sides
October is here, and with it comes ADHD Awareness Month. As someone who sits in a unique intersection—a licensed mental health counselor and child mental health specialist, registered play therapy supervisor, clinic owner, AND a mom to neurodivergent kids with ADHD and SPD married to a neurodivergent partner—I can tell you that ADHD awareness isn't just professional knowledge for me. It's a lived experience.
Here's the twist: I'm neurotypical.
Cary M Hamilton
Oct 16, 202512 min read
Suicide Prevention: Let’s Get Awkward!
“Are you thinking about suicide?” It’s an awkward question, right?
Scary, even. If there’s one thing we know from suicide research, however, it’s that this question, though uncomfortable, is essential. So let’s get awkward, because it’s September, and September is National Suicide Prevention month. There’s no better time to talk about what to do if someone you love is talking about suicide, or if you suspect they are considering it.
Katrina Swenson
Sep 24, 20254 min read
FALL into Your Olfactory Sense
Our olfactory (smell) system is a powerful one. As many people know, it is common for fragrances, odors, and other smells...
Celia Courser and Cary M. Hamilton
Oct 27, 20214 min read
Gratitude & Vulnerable Moments of Joy
We are all experiencing pain, confusion, & struggle. Yet, we are here for each other. We still have those glimpsed moments of vulnerable joy
Cary M Hamilton
Nov 24, 20203 min read
The information contained on this site, blog posts, videos, and interviews are for general education purposes and do not constitute professional advice. If you are a provider, it’s important to seek training, continuing education, or clinical supervision. If you are a parent, I encourage you to seek direct help from a qualified provider for your child and family. All identifying information, including names and other details, has been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
*The photos used are personal or are stock photography models and do not represent specific individuals in any way.
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