Ask Dr. Mike

In these technology driven times, managing our children’s screen time is a daily – and sometimes moment to moment – parenting task.  With the changes we’ve had to make societally as parents due to COVID-19, that task has certainly become even more imperative. Think about it.  Many children are on screens for full school days now, then they do their homework on a screen and then they enjoy much of their free time with screens.  If your children are awake about 16 hours a day, the majority of their waking time is likely being spent with some form of technology. [...]

Dr. Mike, My husband has been offered a promotion to a new position on the West Coast, but his company needs him to relocate by March!  If he doesn’t accept, they will give him a severance package, but then he’s without a job and I stay at home.  The move would have a higher salary, which is great, but I know for certain that moving abruptly will be difficult on our 3 children since Ashburn has always been their home.  It will be especially difficult for our two older children in high school.  My parents live in NOVA and my [...]

Dr. Mike, My husband has gone on an insane health kick that is causing us a lot of problems as a couple and as a family, and I don’t know what to do.  Basically, he’s lost his mind with diet and exercise, and it started in April and right after he started working from home because of COVID-19.  He’s lost 65 pounds on the Keto Diet and he exercises all the time; I guess I should be happy for him but the problem is that we don’t see him anymore.  He won’t eat meals with us because of his diet, [...]

Making Positive Change Happen in 2021! On a societal and global level, COVID-19 has made this year a difficult one in so many ways.  Worldwide, close to 1.7 million people have died, and close to 80,000,000 people have become sick with the virus.  Statistics on COVID-19 are also imperfect given testing limitations and the lack of consideration of those who may have it but are asymptomatic, so the number of cases is likely higher.  And the virus has impacted us all individually in so many profound ways – how we work, how we go to school, how we socialize, how [...]

Dr. Mike, My husband and I have watched politics ruin many of our closest friends’ relationships and now it’s happening to us.  I’m wanting to unfriend certain friends on-line because of what I see them posting, and I also don’t even want to have some people in my life anymore at all because their views are so different from ours.  My husband and I are Christians, and we’ve always tried to be non-critical and patient in God’s light, but it’s getting harder to do with everything that’s happening in the US right now.  This has also been very painful for [...]

Dr. Mike, The last few months have been hard for me with coronavirus.  I work in my home office all day now and haven’t been to work since late March.  I haven’t seen a single friend. I’ve gained 15 pounds.  I’m drinking too much, and I can’t even remember the last time I worked out with my gym closing.  I’m around my children and husband (who also works from home) all the time, which I guess should feel good but it doesn’t way too often.  I don’t have energy.  I feel sad most of the time, and I lay awake [...]

Back to School:  Preparing your child for virtual learning To the dismay of many parents, the hybrid option to the academic school year for our children is no longer an option in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS).  But what does that mean and is exclusive virtual learning truly the best option?  While parents in our community are split over the decision, I don’t think there really is a best option; we’re in a global pandemic, and as we’ve all learned over the past several months, living with restrictions and compromises is the new normal. There’s no denying that our children [...]

Dr. Mike, Our children are having a very difficult time with the quarantine.  Our 9 year old son has ADHD, and his behaviors are much worse and his ability to focus on school work is just not there…thank goodness the school year is almost over!  It’s too bad because he was doing great academically and with his behaviors before all of this happened.  Whatever we ask of him now, if it doesn’t involve Minecraft or YouTube, he won’t do it or he’ll only do it only after a lot of fighting.  Then there’s our 18 year old daughter who is [...]

Dr. Mike, Our 6 year old daughter needs to sleep with us every night now.  It’s 100% because of the coronavirus since she’s been sleeping by herself for years with no issues.  She started by coming into our room at night crying about “nightmares” and “scary dreams” a few weeks ago and now she needs to stay with us every night.  When we’ve tried to get her to stay in her own bed, she cries non-stop.  She’s also resorting to baby talk when expressing herself, which is a new thing for us.  When we try to correct that, she also [...]