Parents often ask me, "What’s the best way to handle chores and allowance?" On the surface, it sounds like an easy conversation about setting up a simple system—figuring out who does what around the house, how much allowance to give, and maybe sprinkling in some lessons about saving money. But the truth is, it’s so much deeper than that. This isn't just about making sure chores get done or determining how much to pay your child. It's about how we shape our children’s understanding of contribution, responsibility, and financial values.

Typically when someone thinks of therapy, images of a calm and quiet waiting room may appear in their mind. Maybe rain sounds are playing, and the office is filled with mid-century modern furniture and earth tones. As you can imagine, play therapy tends to be a bit different. Especially the sounds!

Suicide is a topic that is difficult for anyone to talk about. Throw in the mix of talking about suicide with your children and that conversation goes from uncomfortable to sometimes unbearable. It can be frightening to bring up such a heavy topic to our children and can bring up worries that we are “putting ideas in their heads” by doing so.