Category: Child

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Dr. Seuss   “Mommy, look my muscles?!”   I remember it like it was yesterday when my youngest son who was three years old at the time came running into the kitchen to show me his […]

Rebuilding Intellectual Skills During the Summer Summer break is typically viewed as a time for relaxation, fun, and no schedules. However, considering the dramatic changes in our lives over the past 2-3 years, this summer would be the perfect time to get children back on track. As unfortunate as it is, the reality is that […]

Summer Brain Gains – Helping Children Prevent the Summer Slide For years, parents and children have been faced with the dreaded summer slide, a time when the school year ends and summer learning loss begins. The reality of this is that children’s cognitive performance has decreased earlier than usual due to the past couple of […]

What to Expect from 10 to 14-year old’s The tween and teen years often feel to parents and teachers like they are back at the “terrible twos” stage. The challenges of working with children at this age can be frustrating. They are very smart but their emotions are all over the place. This can make […]

What to Expect from 5- and 6-year old’s Children between the ages of five and six years old are no longer “little kids.” They are in a very important transition in their lives. They have developed skills that make them appear to have things more together, so they are often approached by adults as an […]

What to Expect from 3- and 4-year old’s Children between the ages of 3 and 4 are at a very unique growth period in their lives. They are growing at a rapid rate in all areas of development and are discovering new things daily, while also learning how to cope with new challenges. Additionally, they […]

Parents everywhere want their children to achieve success. This is usually defined by fulfilling societal norms, whether in terms of grades, athletic abilities, or something else. And the push to accomplish these things first is putting pressure on children and parents as well. Comparisons are fueling the expectation for children to develop at a specific […]

How Does Your Child Respond? As we navigate the world, we all use our senses to receive input from our surroundings, let our brains process, and then tell us how to react. Generally, we respond with minimal disruption to our routine. However, processing sensory stimuli can be a challenge for some people, either because there […]

Although Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is such a prevalent diagnosis, there are still many misconceptions surrounding it. People often assume that ADHD results from poor parenting, laziness, or some learning disorder. And with these assumptions come a wide range of approaches to “fix” the problem. However, with the lack of proper understanding of this disorder, […]

Tuning into Teens’ Emotional Shifts Should I Worry? As we approach the one-year mark of an ever-strong pandemic that has rocked our world, we are searching for ways to keep ourselves mentally and emotionally in check. For teens, this has been an even more difficult feat. Adolescence is already fraught with stress and moodiness but […]

Many parents enlist Elf on the Shelf to remind our kids that he/she’s keeping tabs on them and letting Santa know if they should be on the ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’ list… We at Cape Martial Arts along with our awesome partners at SKILLZ have put together a new concept to use to help teach children […]

The Second Brain Boosting Serotonin to Enhance Learning We have all experienced, from time to time, that uneasy feeling you get when something doesn’t seem right. Often, we can’t put our finger on it, but we know that we feel bothered. For children, that uneasy feeling may show up as grumpiness or irritability, which can […]

The Motivator Molecule Boosting Dopamine in Constructive Ways Nowadays it seems that children are only interested in their video games, smart phones, and social media platforms. Parents are frustrated with their children’s lack of motivation for and attention to other activities that they are at a loss as to what to do. Therefore, parents often […]

A 4D Approach to Online Safety Children of all ages are spending more and more time on devices. Online schoolwork and staying connected to family members are positive ways children can use technology. And while video games and social media apps are ways for children to connect and “play” with friends, these platforms are also […]

Work First, Then Play Throughout the past four months schedules have been upended and downtime has taken over. However, as the new school year gets underway, reality is going to show up and we are going to be scrambling to get ourselves and our children back on a productive path. In the book “The 7 […]

Preparing Children to Return to School – An Emotional Approach As back to school plans continue to change almost daily, children’s emotions will remain unpredictable. One day they are thinking about returning to their friends and teachers at school, and the next, they are told they won’t be returning for another few months. Because of […]

Preparing Children to Return to School – An Intellectual Approach Over the past few months, we have been inundated with information that seems to change almost daily, making it hard to resolve what should and should not be done. Everyone has their thoughts and feelings about varying current debates, especially regarding starting school. And while […]

Preparing Children to Return to School A Developmental Approach As we continue through the current pandemic and re-opening efforts show real challenges, school districts everywhere are trying to devise the best plans for children, teachers, and staff to return. And while there will be no perfect solution for each family, parents must consider all the […]

Accepting Responsibility Teaching Children to Avoid Blame Shifting It is becoming more and more apparent that no one is to blame for everything that happens. So, if this is the case, how do we get ourselves in such turmoil if no one is responsible? Although this seems ridiculous, the use of “blame-shifting” has become the […]

Listening Beyond Words The Key to Deeper Human Connection In today’s world, people have largely forgotten the skill of listening. For the young it is from a lack of knowledge and experience, for the adults it is largely because we don’t take the time and only hear what we want. Both groups often think that […]

Super-Charge Your Child’s Development During the Summer As the world  continues its reopening efforts, more and more parents  are headed back to work. And while this is a positive sign, it leaves parents with the task of finding their children a fun, yet safe, program to spend each day at. Since summer camps are unable […]

Leading by Example The Power of Self-Care in Parenting Parents have always served as the first, and typically, the most important role model for their children, even though family members, teachers, and coaches have a significant impact on a child’s development as well. However, in the wake of the pandemic, these people have had less […]

Pandemic Parenting Understanding Your Child’s Regressive Behaviors Raising a child can be one of the most rewarding jobs around. And while it’s exciting to watch children grow and develop into caring humans, parenting definitely brings about it’s fair share of challenges. Fast forward to 2020 and we are now faced with parenting during a pandemic […]

Summer Brain Gains – Helping Children Prevent the Summer Slide For years, parents and children have been faced with the dreaded summer slide, a time when the school year ends and summer learning loss begins. And as if it wasn’t detrimental enough in it’s own rights, this year the summer slide has been accelerated by […]

How Trauma Affects Children and Teens As we continue to navigate the unchartered waters of the current pandemic, many are looking to the future and what it holds. And while it’s hard to predict how long our current daily life modifications will last, what we do know is that the experience of this trauma will […]

Nurturing Children’s Social Development During the Pandemic   For the past two months, we have been asked to socially distance ourselves from others in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. We’ve put most of our “normal” daily living routines on pause and created a secluded environment for ourselves and our children. And while many […]

Supporting Children’s Emotional Needs During the Pandemic Part 2 We are all human and our responses to our current situation vary. Some have hunkered down and sorted through their new reality in a way that has motivated them to complete tasks and put new goals in place. Others have become increasingly overwhelmed and feel like […]

The Benefits of Virtual Training  Although not new, virtual learning has increasingly become a more widely used approach, especially in the wake of the current pandemic. Nearly everyone has been directed to stay at home, which initially seemed like a vacation but quickly became an unwanted situation. With routines upended and everyone limited with access […]

Do you ever feel like you can read your child’s mind? You know what they are going to do or say next because they have had the same reaction before? This is attunement. Improving your attunement skills will allow you to create a more patient and understanding relationship with your child. 1. Modify Your Child’s […]

Helping Children Feel Secure in an Uncertain World The news can be full of scary stories and information, especially for children. Our current situation has brought about even more concern for everyone in the world. If adults are feeling panicked, imagine how children must be feeling. And no matter the age, children can be emotionally […]

Let’s face it, conflict is hard and is bound to happen no matter what ground rules are put into place. Whether it’s on the playground or right in our own homes, children will clash. Now that people are having to choose to stay in this will increase the stress and likelihood of conflict. And while […]

Realizing that parents are now dealing with children at home rather than school, we are taking multiple steps to provide tools, activities and options to assist. We are starting with something really simple; COLORING SHEETS! Feel free to go to this link; https://spblive.net/coloringsheets/ to download and print off pages for them to color. We will […]

Stress is a significant part of our lives today. And while we all experience it, children and teens have a more difficult time managing it. Academic pressure, social tensions, family stressors, etc. all impact a young person’s mental well-being. For this reason, it’s important for parents to help their children develop coping skills by guiding […]

Realistic Behavioral Expectations What to Expect from 3- and 4-year old’s Children between the ages of 3 and 4 are at a very unique growth period in their lives. They are growing at a rapid rate in all areas of development and are discovering new things daily, while also learning how to cope with new […]

Martial Arts for Young Teens   Adolescence is defined as the stage in a child’s life when they begin transitioning into young adults. Early adolescence can begin as early as age 9 and continue until about age 19. This is a transformative but often confusing and difficult time in their lives. Not only physically, but […]

Martial Arts For: Kids with Autism   Martial arts in current American history can sometimes carry a heavy misconception. Every school will teach and train differently, which only adds to the confusion and misunderstandings. Martial arts was developed as a martial – or war – art. It was invented and designed to be used in […]

18 Months is a major milestone in terms of a child’s stages of development. At 18 months old toddlers are beginning to run, talk, and exhibit more ambitious and challenging behavior. So where do we come in? Mini SKILLZ is our program for 18month-36month olds and is designed specifically to aid in the physical, social, […]