Live On Purpose TV

Mar 18

Is Screen Time Dangerous For Kids?

By DrPaul M-Power

Our parents never had to deal with this question when we were kids because the world has changed. Is screen time dangerous for kids? Paul: There is actually a lot of studies coming out that are showing that yeah, there are some negative effects of too much screen time. But you know what? I think it’s important to recognize it’s not the screens that are the problem. But they are kind of like fire. I like this analogy. You know, Vicki how there was a time when our kids were little when there was a little fire that erupted? Vicki: [Laughs] Paul: Do you remember this? And fire is dangerous, right? It can burn down your house. It can consume a forest or even an entire community. We’ve seen this in the news from time to time. So, is fire a bad thing? No. Fire is a powerful thing. We…

Mar 14

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What Negative Thinking Does To Your Brain

By DrPaul M-Power

So I’m touting positivity all the time, I’m the positivity shrink. Negativity actually affects our brain in real ways and we have a choice to be positive or negative. Where is your thinking? The first video I released on my YouTube Channel, Live On Purpose TV, talked about how to stay positive no matter what. I will link to the video at the end of the post. Our mind is constantly evaluating and creating depending on our current situation. We generate either a positive or a negative emotion or feeling. That emotion or feeling sets us up for what we are going to do in creation mode, where and how we move forward. Review the video and you’ll get a good sense of what the model is all about. Here is the short version, is my life good or is my life bad? Now that’s oversimplified and nobody really thinks…

Feb 29

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How To Talk So Your Teen Will Listen

By DrPaul M-Power

Paul: Vicki, maybe we ought to change this title to “How to listen so teens will listen?” Vicki: That is so important. So many kids just feel like, they are not heard. They are not validated. So, listening to them, even when it seems silly to you, especially then. Paul: You make a good point, Vicki, because I think teens get frustrated sometimes feeling like we don’t take the time to actually connect with them. And so, we don’t have the credibility that we need when we want them to listen to us because they feel like we have never really listened to them. This puts you in a powerful position as a parent. Vicki: Remember, everything they are going through is big to them. So, if you want them to listen to you, be sure you are listening to them in all the little things. Little to you, big…

Feb 25

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How To Stay Positive At Work

By DrPaul M-Power

What? You have a job? I emphasize that right up front because there are so many people who don’t. That’s really a first step to being positive at work is realizing that you’ve got work. How cool and amazing is that? Focus on that abundance and that’s going to change some things as we start into a 5-day experiment. When I say experiment, I mean let’s try this and see what happens. Pay attention to what changes inside of you and what changes you see in everyone around you because some of us don’t have very positive places to work. Day one is the gratitude-focus day. So, this starts on your next full day at work. Look for things in your work environment the way it is right now without changing anything for which you are sincerely grateful. Find it. Ask your mind to look for things that are already…

Feb 16

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How Do You Improve A Child’s Concentration?

By DrPaul M-Power

Paul: We have both had some experience with this. Vicki, I know you have. How do you improve a child’s concentration? We have a number of ideas for you. First, maybe a disclaimer. Concentration can be affected by a lot of different factors. Vicki: And it’s kind of hard to figure out just what is affecting your child. Paul: It really can be. We are going to share some ideas with you, but be open to other solutions as well. Sometimes you need a little extra help. I have felt as a psychologist working primarily with children and families that we tend to over diagnose conditions like ADHD, for example. Sometimes when a child is having a hard time concentrating, it’s really easy to jump to the diagnosis. Well, it may or may not be a true diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. So, let’s just put that on a…

Jan 28

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Self-Calming Techniques For Preschoolers

By DrPaul M-Power

Some of our viewers have asked for some self-calming techniques for their preschoolers. I think we can help you with that. Vicki: Young children really don’t have emotional self-regulation. It is pretty common for them to be out of control, and so, learning self-soothing techniques is going to take some time. Just expect that and it won’t be so frustrating to you when they just start throwing a big fit or having a meltdown. Paul: Vicki, we have been doing positive parenting groups for some time now. And as you have joined our groups and shared with us what’s going on in your own parenting world, I’ve seen this very frequently where parents of very young children, especially if they are first-time parents just aren’t aware of what some of the developmental expectations are. I would encourage you to not freak out too much. When you have a preschool child…

Jan 21

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How To Deal With Girl Bullies In Middle School

By DrPaul M-Power

Bullying in general is something that we’ve got to address a little bit better in our communities. It’s becoming more of a problem all over the planet. The specific topic of today’s video has to do with adolescents which bullying tends to increase as we get into those adolescent years, and girls particularly in middle school. When we were shooting the video for this topic at Live On Purpose TV, both Allie and Alisha who were filming said, “Oh, yeah, girls can be awful. Mean Girls.” There is even a movie with that name. Girls can be even worse than boys when it comes to bullying. It can be a big problem. There are different forms of bullying. Think of a spectrum or a continuum, maybe on the less severe end of that spectrum we’ve got teasing, banter. Especially friendly or playful banter. As you move toward the other end…

Jan 06

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How to Calm Down a Hyper Child

By DrPaul M-Power

Many parents have asked me for tricks to calm down a hyper child. I don’t have any tricks, but I’ve got five specific ideas that I think are going to help. The first tip is not going to surprise you at all. You get to be the example of calm and peaceful and centered and mindful. Is that too much pressure? What you do speaks so much louder than what you say. Find ways to show up as that calm parent. I am sure you have noticed that when our kids get a little out of control sometimes that tips us over also. Most of the comments I get on my YouTube channel ask how do I stay calm when my kids are out of control? I will put a link down below to one of the videos in case you want to check it out or any others on…

Dec 09

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Winning A Custody Battle – Four Things You Must Do

By Cyndi Baker M-Power

There are four things that you must do to win a custody battle, but they are probably not what you would expect. As a professional psychologist, 13 years of my career was committed to doing child custody evaluations for the court before I switched over to positive psychology. Here is what I learned. As a professional evaluator for the court, there are two worlds that are created for a child. Before parents separate, the child’s world is just one big whole like a circle. When mom and dad separate, for whatever reason, that world splits. And now we have mom’s world and dad’s world, and they are very different. Where do the kids belong? Right there in the middle Now, actually the kid’s world is larger than either mom’s world or dad’s world because the kids world includes both mom’s and dad’s world. Research shows very clearly that the number…

Dec 09

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How To Apologize To Your Child For Yelling

By Cyndi Baker M-Power, Uncategorized

Even with our best efforts, sometimes we do it. We lose our cool and yell at our kids. How do you apologize to your child for yelling? We can learn something from our kids. You know when your kids are kind of conflicted with each other and they end up hurting each other they end up yelling or whatever it is. And you tell them, “Okay now, tell your brother you’re sorry.” And it doesn’t sound sincere at all. Nobody is convinced. Well, let’s learn something from that. Be authentic. Be real about this. I don’t want you to pretend to apologize to your child or do it with some strings attached. For example, what if I were to say, “I’m sorry that I yelled at you. But you shouldn’t have…” You are not really sorry at that point. I gave the apology, then I threw the other party under…

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