Mary Novaria

   AS FEATURED IN HEALTH RAISING KIDS When You Miss the Signs of Your Kid’s Anxiety BY Mary Novaria POSTED  June 7, 2016 It began with the “sock problem.” My daughter Ellie and I spent an agonizing ten minutes every morning finding the perfect pair of socks for her tiny, three-year-old feet. The nubby seam across the toes bothered my daughter to the point of such intense aggravation that she’d kick, cry, and throw socks in frustration. At Target we’d sit on the floor tearing open plastic packaging so she could try on socks before we bought them — whatever it took to avoid the ones that were uncomfortable and angst-producing. I tried to be calm and sympathetic, but the truth is I thought she was willful and finicky. I didn’t recognize Ellie’s tactile discomfort as a symptom of a larger problem. I missed the significance of the early signs, unaware that her sensitivity and shyness foreshadowed an anxiety disord...

                                                                                                                   Fotolia I get why teenagers want to go out on New Year's Eve, I really do. It's because they want to make us crazy. The reason I know this is because I was 17 once. There were few things worse than being home on New Year's Eve. It was worse than missing Prom, worse than not going to Florida for Spring Break, worse than flunking your driver's test. Dear old Dad always called New Year's Eve "amateur night"--a night fraught with beginning binge drinkers making asses of themselves, generally wreaking havoc, and possibly jeopardizing life and limb. Going out on this auspicious occasion w...

As seen on Huffington Post I once made an 8-year-old cry at a soccer match when I pointed at her and shouted, "Handball! You've gotta be kidding me!" Not my finest moment in years of youth sports that have taken our family to basketball courts, soccer fields, baseball diamonds and golf courses. With two athletic kids and a house in the suburbs, competition is a way of life. We rationalize about the benefits of developing skills, confidence and good sportsmanship, but how much of that is wiped out by over-involved parents who behave badly? Just like kindergartners, when it comes to sports, adults act out in many ways. Here are the 10 worst. Continue reading here... Follow me on Twitter. 

I get why teenagers want to go out on New Year's Eve, I really do. It's because they want to make us crazy. The reason I know this is because I was 17 once. There were few things worse than being home on New Year's Eve. It was worse than missing Prom, worse than not going to Florida for Spring Break, worse than flunking your driver's test. Dear old Dad always called New Year's Eve "amateur night"--a night fraught with beginning binge drinkers making asses of themselves, generally wreaking havoc, and possibly jeopardizing life and limb. Going out on this auspicious occasion was seriously frowned upon. (The same was true for the purchase and use of roman candles, smoke bombs and bottle rockets on the Fourth of July.) Participating in year-end revelry was even more strenuously discouraged if it involved driving. Ask to borrow Dad's car on December 31st? Fuhgedaboudit! I have no memory of my parents ever going to a fancy, grown-up New Year's Eve ...