Christian Counseling for Children

Taking Active Steps Toward Bullying Prevention

, 2025-04-25T05:20:44+00:00April 4th, 2025|Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Whether in person or online, our society has become increasingly intertwined. Even though we now have more ways to connect with people through social media, texts, calls, or video chats, these same means of connection can also cause us to feel distant from one another. One area where this is keenly seen is with regard to bullying. Bullying is one such way in which people ignore the basic needs, dignity, and humanity of others. Bullying affects both adults and children, leading to feelings of isolation, anxiety, low self-esteem, and even depression. Richardson Christian Counseling supports individuals who are struggling with the emotional effects of bullying, offering compassionate care grounded in faith and healing. When it comes to children, bullying most often happens at school, but it also can take place online as well. Those who are more at risk of being bullied are: People who are considered weak or unable to defend themselves Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and two-spirit People who are perceived as being different based on their weight, what they wear, or their social status Those who have a physical, mental, or intellectual disability Bullying Prevention by Understanding Bullying To develop effective strategies to prevent bullying, we must understand the nature of bullying. According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), bullying is characterized by the following: Intentional It is unwanted, aggressive behavior that is intended to cause emotional or physical harm. Repeated Unwanted behavior is repeated multiple times or has the likelihood of being repeated many times. Power imbalance Bullying involves an imbalance of power between the target and perpetrator(s) based on a person’s weight, real or perceived race, color, national origin, religion or religious practices, disability ethnic group, sexual orientation, gender, physical appearance, sex, or other distinguishing characteristics. [...]

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The Impacts of Birth Order

, 2025-04-25T05:26:21+00:00March 25th, 2025|Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Family Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling|

In the 1920s, Alfred Adler, a physician and psychotherapist, developed a theory on personality. His theory emphasized the influence a community (family, friendships, and society at large) has on an individual. Through Adler’s research and interviews, he noticed many commonalities in personality traits related to the birth order of children. In particular, he noticed that the order in which a child is born in relation to their siblings can impact one’s personality traits and lifestyle. This theory, known as Birth Order Theory, categorizes personality traits based on a child’s position in the family. It identifies three main categories: firstborn, middleborn, and lastborn. Richardson Christian Counseling recognizes the influence of birth order and offers support in understanding how it may shape individual experiences and relationships. It is important to remember that while some aspects of Adler’s theory might apply to certain individuals, it does not necessarily hold true for everyone. The Firstborn Child First-time parents often have strong opinions on how a child should be raised. Putting those opinions into practice while raising their first child may involve significant trial and error. These parents were learning as they were raising a child. Personality Traits of the Firstborn Child The firstborn often experiences the parents growing up with them. They are the children who give their parents experience in child-rearing. This can lead to a strict and cautious upbringing. Being raised under that dynamic, they often become success-oriented. The traits of firstborn children may include being: Mature Responsible Organized Leaders High achieving Controlling Cautious Reliable Perfectionist The firstborn child experienced having the parents to themselves and getting all the attention. This also meant that the firstborn was more than likely subjected to stricter rules. Being the oldest child sometimes means a greater expectation to set a good example for the younger [...]

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Teaching Your Children Safe and Healthy Ways to Use Social Media Platforms

, 2024-11-13T11:00:15+00:00August 8th, 2024|Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Family Counseling, Featured|

Parenting has always been a daunting task, but with the advent of social media platforms and hyper-connectivity changing the social landscape, parental guidelines are getting even blurrier. It has become imperative for parents to be vigilant regarding the challenges the younger generation faces each day online. Knowing the amount of time your child spends on social media According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kids ages eight to eighteen spend, on average, a whopping seven and a half hours on a screen for entertainment each day, four and a half hours of which are spent watching TV. Over the course of a year, that adds up to 114 full days watching a screen for fun. In effect, this means that children spend almost half of their waking hours each year engaged in online activities. Networks like TikTok, X, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook are designed not only to grab your attention but also to maintain your continued interest. In these first few months of 2024, the American government has been up-in-arms with TikTok over its controversial new TikTok-Lite promotional incentive that seeks to reward its users with gift packs for spending more time on the site. That means people will be paid to spend more time online, with potentially catastrophic consequences for their mental health. Children spending even more time on leading social media platforms like TikTok means the problems caused by excessive use of the internet are only exacerbated. How social media platforms can endanger children’s well-being In this day and age, the long-held moral stance of simply forbidding kids from socially immoral places to keep them safe is no longer enough to keep them safe or protected. Con artists, criminals, and every form of predator are now just a click away each time your child [...]

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Play Therapy for Children: Benefits and How It Works

, 2024-11-13T11:01:14+00:00May 3rd, 2024|Christian Counseling for Children, Family Counseling, Featured|

Childhood is the season of life when we are least burdened by problems. Or at least, it is meant to be. The author Patrick Rothfuss wrote in one of his novels titled The Name Of The Wind that “When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.” Unfortunately, children go through experiences that rob them of their innocence, and they need help to process those experiences to make sense of them and overcome emotional and mental obstacles to their well-being. What is play therapy? One of the therapeutic techniques that therapists use to help children is called play therapy. Because of their young age, children are not always able to process their own emotions or articulate themselves enough to share their problems with parents or other adults in their lives. Play is one of the main ways that young children express themselves and navigate their world, and play therapy leverages this to create space for the child to explore their feelings and experiences. In everyday life, whether it is with or without the guidance of a mental health professional such as a therapist, children like to communicate through their play. For instance, a child who’s playing violently with their toys may be dismissed as simply being aggressive when he might be mirroring a violent domestic situation he has witnessed. If you know what to look for, toys can act as symbols and take on greater meaning as they allow a child to act out their inner feelings and deepest emotions. Play is a tool that children use to act out their fears and anxieties, to heal and problem-solve, or as a [...]

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Child Counseling for Bullying or Divorce

2024-09-27T10:30:11+00:00November 30th, 2023|Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Family Counseling, Featured|

Adults often acknowledge that people are all different. And by people, we mean other adults. Children are too often the recipients of standardized approaches that do not recognize that they are individuals, with diverse ways of seeing and reacting to the world around them. Child counseling can help shed light. The reasons each person has for requiring counseling are different. Having made that point, it is important to also notice there are experiences after which many children do benefit from counseling. If your child has experienced any of the following or is currently experiencing them, then it is prudent to consider whether the effects, fallout, and required healing would be assisted through the facilitation of a trained professional. Child counseling after bullying. Bullying affects everyone involved; the people who are the victims of bullies, the bullies themselves, and those who witness the bullying. Bullying sometimes even occurs in a child’s school friendship group and isn’t picked up in many metrics that measure poor outcomes. Bullying is a common experience for those who also abuse substances, struggle with mental health, or even consider suicide, experience depression and anxiety, have increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, experience a change in their sleep or their eating patterns, and more. Those who are bullied are likely to experience a drop in their schoolwork and participation, and in time are increasingly likely to miss or drop out of school. As with some other childhood ills, experts find that some of these issues may continue into adulthood. This makes taking steps to address it and helping your child process their experience all the more important. Child counseling after divorce. The break-up of a marriage is certainly difficult for the parents; however, it can easily be just as hard on the children of the family. There [...]

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