Category Archives: personal growth

Why it’s so important for parents to learn how to emotionally self-regulate.

Posted on February 26, 2013 by raisingsmartgirls

If there is nothing else I can teach my daughters before I leave this world, it’s how to emotionally self-regulate.  I have to admit, it’s been hard. I have complex-PTSD from childhood emotional neglect and abuse (I was ignored until … Continue reading →

Posted in abuse, anxiety, Attachment Parenting, Depression, emotion coaching, emotional dysregulation, explosive child, highly sensitive child, highly sensitive mom, highly sensitive person, Intensity, loss of parental love, mind and body, mindfulness, personal growth, personal issues, selective mutism, social and emotional issues of the gifted, social anxiety | 5 Comments

Dumbing down is not an option

Posted on December 7, 2012 by raisingsmartgirls

Yeah, I know I should be organizing my house.  I’m really feeling run down with the cold I contracted from my daughter.  So I am resting and nursing my health and blogging instead. *** I’ve wasted no small amount of … Continue reading →

Posted in creativity, faith, gifted adults, gifted children, gifted support, highly sensitive person, mindfulness, On friendship, people suck, personal growth, personal issues, social and emotional issues of the gifted | 17 Comments

Gifted and Disorganized

Posted on December 7, 2012 by raisingsmartgirls

This week has been a very slow work week for me.  I contracted a nasty stomach virus last Friday night from my adorable students/germ factories, and spent most of the wee hours of Saturday vomiting and emptying my bowels just … Continue reading →

Posted in about the smart girls, Clutter, creativity, gifted adults, Gifted and Disorganized, gifted children, gifted support, highly sensitive mom, intellectual stuff, messie, organization, personal growth | 8 Comments

10 Basic Good Mother Messages

Posted on May 23, 2012 by raisingsmartgirls

I’ve been a mother for 1o.5 years now.  And I need constant reminders about what is good fertilizer to grow children.  I know, so sad, right?  But it’s true. I have read in so many places regarding healing from childhood … Continue reading →

Posted in abuse, anxiety, Attachment Parenting, Depression, emotional dysregulation, gifted adults, gifted children, gifted support, highly sensitive child, highly sensitive mom, Intensity, introspection, loss of parental love, meltdowns, mindfulness, motherhood, my mothering goals, personal growth, personal issues, raising smart girls, suicidal ideation, trauma | 1 Comment

What I’ve learned – Part II

Posted on November 8, 2011 by raisingsmartgirls

(For part I – please see this post – What I’ve learned-Part I) I must say, resourceful or not, motherhood knocked me on my ass. I can look back now with compassion for myself. Due to my own very difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Attached Dad, Attachment Parenting, career, Depression, emotion coaching, emotional dysregulation, gifted adults, gifted children, gifted support, highly sensitive child, highly sensitive mom, Intensity, meltdowns, personal growth, perspective | 6 Comments

What I’ve learned – Part I

Posted on November 8, 2011 by raisingsmartgirls

[Due to an obnoxiously long word count, I decided to make this a two-parter] When I started this job almost 10 years ago, I was extremely unprepared for mothering. I’d like you talk about my own mother for a moment, … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Attached Dad, Attachment Parenting, career, emotional dysregulation, gifted adults, gifted children, gifted support, highly sensitive child, highly sensitive mom, Intensity, motherhood, personal growth | 1 Comment

If you had controlling parents…how do you avoid becoming one?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by raisingsmartgirls

I have talked quite a bit on this blog about my insecurities and anxieties about my own capacity as a mother.  Midway through my 40th year now, I spent about a year and a half examining the factors that have … Continue reading →

Posted in abuse, anxiety, booklists, emotion coaching, highly sensitive child, highly sensitive mom, loss of parental love, meltdowns, mood, personal growth, social anxiety, trauma | 25 Comments

Blizzards and Boredom and Bertrand Russell.

Posted on December 13, 2010 by raisingsmartgirls

What better way to spend a snowy midwest winter evening than curled up with a cup of hot cocoa and Bertrand Russell’s The Conquest of Happiness.   It was written in 1930, but it’s still very much appropriate and inspiring.   It … Continue reading →

Posted in boredom strikes, gifted adults, gifted children, gifted support, intellectual stuff, introspection, personal growth | 6 Comments

Expansive

Posted on September 5, 2010 by raisingsmartgirls

Wow, nine days without a post. Crazy, but true. My grandmother died (I’ll talk about that after the funeral on Tuesday, I think). I read. And ruminated. I wrote in my journal. And corresponded with friends. And ruminated some more. … Continue reading →

Posted in creating harmony, On friendship, personal growth | 15 Comments

I am blessed by Paulo Coelho’s writings

Posted on August 20, 2010 by raisingsmartgirls

I don’t think I have ever been so consistently touched by someone’s writings as I have with Paulo Coelho. I have read Veronika Decides to Die, Eleven Minutes, and am working my way through The Zahir, The Alchemist and Warrior … Continue reading →

Posted in faith, mindfulness, personal growth | 5 Comments