Summer is supposed to feel light, but a lot of families quietly struggle once the school day disappears. When the structure drops, motivation can dip, anxiety can rise, and everyone ends up feeling a little off. We talk honestly about why that happens and how a few predictable moments can make the whole day feel calmer without turning summer into boot camp. I’m joined by Dr. Peter Montminy, a clinical child psychologist and parenting coach at A Mindful Village, to rethink “routine” as an anc...

The hardest parts of the day are often the “in-between” moments: turning off a screen, getting out the door, starting homework, and powering down for bedtime. When those transitions go poorly, it can feel like the whole day is held hostage by routines, arguments, and tantrums. We wanted a grounded, practical roadmap for caregivers and educators, so we sat down with Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village to talk about what’s really happening in a child’s brain and body during change. We unpa...

Change can feel like getting knocked off your footing, even when it’s a “good” change. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village to talk through the real emotional whiplash of big life transitions: moving, starting a new school, welcoming a new baby, adoption, remarriage and stepfamilies, divorce, and losses like the death of a loved one or pet. If you’ve ever watched a child swing from excited to furious to shut down, you’re not alone and you’re not doing it wrong. We break d...

If you’ve ever thought, “My child can focus for hours on a favorite activity, so it can’t be ADHD,” this conversation will change how you see attention, effort, and motivation. We dig into what ADHD actually is: a neurodevelopmental executive function difference that affects sustained attention, impulse control, planning, and self-monitoring. And we get specific about how it can look different in kids versus teens, why it’s often missed in girls, and how easily it gets mistaken for laziness o...

Depression gets talked about like it’s just sadness, but the reality is messier and more important. Sometimes it shows up as irritability, numbness, exhaustion, lost motivation, or a teen who can’t seem to care about anything they used to love. We wanted a clearer map, so we sat down with our resident expert, Dr. Peter Montminy, to break down what depression is, what it isn’t, and how to tell when a normal dip has crossed into something that needs real support. We walk through depression on ...

A mean message is bad enough. A mean message that can be screenshotted, shared, and repeated all night long is something else entirely. Cyberbullying doesn’t stop at the school doors, and for many kids it shows up in the one place that should feel safest: alone in their bedroom with a phone. We sit down with our resident expert, Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village, to break down what cyberbullying really looks like today across social media, texting, and gaming platforms. We talk a...

Pornography is no longer something children and teens only find on “adult sites.” It can surface through social media, messaging threads, gaming platforms, and even music streaming, which leaves many parents and caregivers feeling outmatched and unsure of what to say first. We walk through pornography and adolescence with our resident expert, Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village, focusing on why the teen brain is especially vulnerable to novelty and reward, how algorithms and peer culture...

A single tap can turn a private moment into a permanent record, and most teens are not thinking about that when they hit send. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy from A Mindful Village to talk honestly about teen sexting, why it shows up earlier than many adults expect, and how adolescent brain development makes impulsivity and reward seeking feel stronger than long term thinking. We get specific about what sexting is, why young people might engage for curiosity, intimacy, belonging, or hum...

Screens are woven into childhood now, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept constant fights, late-night scrolling, or kids who can’t disengage. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy to unpack what’s really happening inside the developing brain and why technology can feel so irresistible for kids, teens, and adults alike. We talk about brain development into the mid-20s, how neuroplasticity strengthens the circuits we use most, and why the reward system is such a big part of the screen time s...

Anxiety can feel like something to get rid of, but what if it’s actually your body trying to help? We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy from A Mindful Village to unpack anxiety as a normal human emotion and a built-in alarm system. We sit down to talk about why anxiety shows up as anticipatory fear, and how that surge of adrenaline can be either useful or overwhelming depending on how we respond. We also map anxiety on a continuum, from mild and motivating to intense and impairing. You’ll hea...