For parents of neurodivergent children

Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA): Everything You Need to Know

Emotionally Based School Avoidance is a term first used in 1932 by Broadwin. It has also been called ‘school phobia’, ‘school anxiety’, and ‘school refusal’. In this article, we give you the latest research about it and a guideline to deal with it.  

Sources +

 

1] Halligan C, Cryer S. Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA): Students' Views of What Works in a Specialist Setting. Contin Educ. 2022 May 18;3(1):13-24. doi: 10.5334/cie.38. PMID: 38774292; PMCID: PMC11104314. 

[2] Elliott, J. G. (1999). Practitioner review: School refusal: Issues of conceptualisation, assessment, and treatment. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 40(7), 1001–1012. DOI: 10.1111/1469-7610.00519.

[3] Taylor, C. (2012). Improving attendance at school. London DFE 

[4] Walter, D., Hautmann, C., Rizk, S., Patermann, M., Sinzig, J., Lehnmuhl, G., & Doepfner, M. (2010). Short term effects of impaired cognitive behavioural treatments of adolescents with anxious-depressed school absenteeism: An observational study. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19, 835–844. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-010-0133-5.

[5] Bjarnason, T., & Thorlindsson, T. (1994). Manifest predictors of past suicide attempts in a population of Icelandic adolescents. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 24(4), 350–358.  

 

Everything You Need to Know About the Tooth Fairy 

Tradition says that when children lose a baby tooth, they must place it underneath their pillow at bedtime. During the night, the Tooth Fairy will make an appearance, taking the tooth and replacing it with a small amount of money.[1]

Where Does This Tradition Come From?

It seems that the tooth fairy tradition originated in the 10th century amongst the Norse people in Northern Europe. Parents going on expeditions or war used to take their kids’ baby teeth for protection and blessing.

Sources +

 

[1] Toumba, K.J. The legend of the “tooth fairy”. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 14, 277–278 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-013-0093-9 

[2] Mills, C. M., Goldstein, T. R., Kanumuru, P., Monroe, A. J., & Quintero, N. B. (2024). Debunking the Santa myth: The process and aftermath of becoming skeptical about Santa.Developmental Psychology, 60(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001662 

[3] Principe, G. F., & Smith, E. (2008). The tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth: How belief in the tooth fairy can engender false memories. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 22(5), 625-642. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1402 

[4] Goldstein, T. R., & Woolley, J. (2016). Ho! Ho! Who? Parent promotion of belief in and live encounters with Santa Claus. Cognitive Development, 39, 113-127 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2016.04.002 

[5] How Much Does The Tooth Fairy Pay For A Tooth. (n.d.). Delta Dental. https://www.deltadental.com/us/en/tooth-fairy/press-release.html#2023

[6] Krebs A, Thomas RM. Tooth Fairy keeping up with inflation. New York Times, 23 June 1981. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/23/nyregion/notes-on-people-tooth-fairy-keeping-up-with-inflation.html

[7] Visa Inc. Survey: tooth fairy fluttering down to earth. Tooth Fairy leaving $3.19, down 24 cents per tooth [webpage]. Visa. July 2015. http://investor.visa.com/news/news-details/2015/Visa-Inc-Survey-Tooth-Fairy-Fluttering-Down-To-Earth/default.aspx 

[8] Care, B. D. (n.d.). How much does the tooth fairy pay in 2023? https://www.bupa.co.uk/dental/dental-care/news/how-much-does-the-tooth-fairy-pay-2023

[9] How Much Does The Tooth Fairy Pay For A Tooth. (n.d.). Delta Dental. https://www.deltadental.com/us/en/tooth-fairy/press-release.html#2023

[10] Sadurní, J. M. (7 May 2019). "Luis Coloma and Ratoncito Pérez, the tale that born as a gift for a Queen". National Geographic. https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/luis-coloma-y-el-ratoncito-perez-el-cuento-que-nacio-como-un-regalo-para-una-reina_14131

[11] Al Hamdani, Muwaffak; Wenzel, Marian (1966). "The Worm in the Tooth". Folklore. 77 (1): 60–64. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1966.9717030. JSTOR 1258921. 

 

Christmas and Our Mental Load

Being a parent carries a lot of mental load: “I must remember to make an appointment at the dentist for Joe”, “Mel needs to wear red socks to school tomorrow”, “It is Sophie’s birthday next week, I need to organize the balloons”, “ I need to leave work early on Thursday because it is Peter’s parents’ evening” and on and on it goes. The to-do list is never ending!

How to deal with tantrums

We’ve all been there: You are at the supermarket with your 2-year-old. He eyes the chocolate chip cookies. You are late to react and knows what is coming: A full-on meltdown in aisle 31 of the supermarket begins when you tell him he cannot have the cookies. After all, it is almost dinner time. Your fellow customers alternate between giving you the look of “What a bad parent” or “I totally get you, don’t worry”. What do you do?

Supporting working parents of neurodivergent children

Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world in different ways. Being neurodivergent means having a brain that works differently from the ‘typical’ person. The key is that these differences are not viewed as deficits, rather they are seen as well…. differences, nor better or worse, just different. 

Neurodiversity encompasses a wide range of issues, including: ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, Down syndrome, epilepsy, Tourette’s syndrome, epilepsy, tics disorders, ODD, giftedness… 

Join the Family

Your Partner in Parenting, From Baby Name Inspiration to College Planning.

Subscribe