Newswise — Many people fear the holiday season each year as they want to keep from spoiling their children. This year, many parents want to give their children gifts that are meaningful — ones they will appreciate in time, even if not right away.“Pampering — or spoiling — a child is not encouraging to their development,” Dr. Saflarski explains. “This often results in social and behavioral problems that can escalate throughout the child’s lifespan.”Putting a twist on your gift-giving allows your child to get more than just the latest must-have toys or gadget. “Don’t feel pressured to keep up with the latest gifts. Make the holidays more meaningful by showing your love,” says Dr. Saflarski.Dr. Julie Saflarski is a Clinical Postdoctoral Fellow at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. She has expertise in working with children and adolescents who struggle with symptoms of anxiety, depression, special needs and developmental disabilities. She works to help support parents and families to best promote healthy development and resilience in their children. Dr. Saflarski works with parents on areas such as parent-child relationships, parent skill building and co-parenting.To speak to Dr. Saflarski about meaningful holiday gift-giving, or to learn more about The Family Institute, please contact Cyndi Schu, Director of Public Relations, at cschu@family-institute or 312-609-5300, ext. 483.
ABOUT THE FAMILY INSTITUTE AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY –The Family Institute at Northwestern University ( www.family-institute.org) is committed to strengthening and healing families and individuals from all walks of life through clinical service, education and research. An affiliate of Northwestern University, The Family Institute is a unique, innovative not-for-profit organization, governed by its own independent Board of Directors and responsible for its own funding. The Institute offers a wide range of high quality mental health counseling through our staff practice and our sliding-fee scale Bette D. Harris Family and Child Clinic, where we are committed to serving at-risk, under-resourced communities. The Family Institute also operates two nationally-renowned graduate programs in marriage and family therapy and counseling psychology in affiliation with Northwestern University, and conducts cutting-edge research projects that lead to a better understanding and treatment of mental health issues.
RSS